Superstar’s village is waiting for his visit without even knowing his political plunge

Braving the winter chill, a group of village elders gathered at the Yashwantrai temple in Mavadi Kadepathar village, about 60km from Pune, on Friday to say a special prayer for Shivajirao Gaikwad. 

“He is a son of the soil who made it big in the movies and now he is going to form a political party. He will be a super hit in politics as he is in cinema,” say villagers as they leave the temple. When someone still doesn’t get it, there is a burst of laughter.

According to the reports, “Our Shivaji is your Rajinikanth,” says Hanumant Chachar, a former sarpanch of the village in Purandar taluk. As Tamil superstar Rajinikanth prepares for his political debut, the residents of Mavadi Kadepathar are excited.

They say Rajini’s roots are in the village that is still home to many Gaikwads and is close to the pilgrimage spot of Jejuri. For a few kilometers around, Mavadi Kadepathar is known as ‘Rajinikanth’s village’.

Babanrao Gaikwad, one of the village elders, says Rajinikanth’s grandfather moved to Basavanna Bagewadi in Karnataka’s Vijayapura taluk and then to Bengaluru.