Superstar Rajinikanth has addressed head-on the swirling rumours about his alleged jealousy over Vijay's rise to Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, as well as speculation about his silence at an airport when asked to comment on the election results.

Explaining the airport incident, Rajinikanth said he had checked if any media personnel were present before entering, and was caught off guard by an unknown individual who broke the news of Vijay's victory. "He did not look like a media person, so I just laughed and left," he clarified, adding that he had already congratulated Vijay formally through his X post after the results.

On the jealousy accusations, Rajinikanth was characteristically witty and direct. "I am not in politics. I have left politics. So if I am not in that arena, why would I be jealous of Vijay? Maybe I would have been jealous if Kamal Haasan became CM — but even then I wouldn't have," he said with a laugh. Drawing attention to the generational gap between them, he added, "There is almost a 25-year age difference between Vijay and me. He has become CM at such a young age. So why would his victories bother me? If I complain about Vijay it doesn't bode well for me. If he complains about me it doesn't bode well for him."

Rajinikanth also addressed his much-publicised visit to former CM MK Stalin following the latter's electoral defeat.