“Vishnuvardhan advised me to act in Tamil,” Rajinikanth

Tamil Superstar Rajinikanth has said that late Kannada actor Dr. Vishnuvardhan, who died of heart attack in Mysore on 30th December 2009, was the source of inspiration for him to act in Tamil films. He says that he still can not believe that Vishnu is dead.

The Tamil actor visited Vishnu"s wife Bharathi at her Jayanagar residence in Bangalore to offer his condolences on Wednesday (January 06). Later speaking to the media, Rajini recalled his close association with Vishnu. He said, "My friendship with Vishnu was 32-years old and it can't be explained in words how I enjoyed those moments with him. Now, I'm still struggling to digest his death news."

Rajini added, "I've acted with Dr. Vishnu in Kannada movies like Sahodarara Sawal and Galate Samsara. I was a newcomer to films when he was a superstar in Kannada. Once, I had got two offers from Tamil and Kannada at a time and I was confused as which one to choose. It was Vishnu, who suggested and encouraged me to take up Tamil film."

The Endhiran star feels that Dr. Vishnu had grown to a great heights in spirituality. He had met him two months back. Vishnu had told him, "Aaptha Rakshaka is a good movie and we should watch it together." Now, Rajini feels that Vishnuvardhan"s death is personally a great loss for him. He said, "I've no words to convey the sense of loss."

However, Rajinikanth arrived at Vishnu's Jayanagar residence in the evening around 6.40 pm. He offered his deep felt regrets on the demise of Dr Vishnuvardhana, while Sandalwood celebs like Ambarish, Rockline Venkatesh, Anirudh, Keeerthi Vardhana were also present there.