Superstar Rajinikanth on Sunday publicly distanced himself from the now-aborted discussions around a potential DMK-AIADMK tie-up that purportedly took place to prevent new Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay from taking office. Rajinikanth said speculation that he was involved had deeply hurt him and insisted that he was “not someone who would stoop to such politics”.

The unusually direct clarification came days after Rajinikanth’s visit to DMK president and former chief minister M K Stalin in the aftermath of the party’s electoral defeat triggered speculation that he may have been informally involved in efforts for an alternative arrangement after the fractured verdict left no single party with a majority of seats.

“After the election results came, my visit to Stalin was criticised,” Rajinikanth told reporters on Sunday, adding, “He has been my friend for three decades. His defeat was upsetting for me. As a friend, I visited him after his defeat.”

But what followed, he said, disturbed him more. “Then, there were reports that two parties were holding talks to form the government, and there were talks that I was involved in those discussions. Let me tell you, Rajinikanth is not such a person who would stoop so low,” he said.

The actor’s remarks come at a politically sensitive moment in Tamil Nadu, where explosive, week-long discussions around a possible DMK-AIADMK understanding, floated after Vijay’s TVK won the most seats but fell short of the majority mark, triggered backlash across the political spectrum.

If Stalin and VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan faced criticism from sections of supporters for even entertaining such possibilities, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami suffered perhaps the biggest political damage. The episode eventually contributed to a rebellion inside his party, with a faction of AIADMK legislators using it to justify their support for Vijay’s government.

Rajinikanth, whose meeting with Stalin coincided with those turbulent negotiations, now appears keen to separate personal friendship from political intrigue.

“I wished Vijay wholeheartedly after his victory,” he said. “When there are talks that I have an issue with Vijay, remember that I am not in politics. I am not there to see him like that…”

He added, “There is a huge generation gap between me and Vijay, around 25 years. I have seen him from his early days. Why should I have a problem with him becoming Chief Minister?”

The actor, who for decades occupied Tamil Nadu’s political imagination without formally entering electoral politics, appeared notably generous in his assessment of Vijay’s rise.

“What Vijay achieved is huge,” he said, adding, “At this age, in spite of having two major parties here and the BJP at the Centre, he achieved this victory on his own.”

“I am not against him or upset. I am only excited and happy for him,” he said, while urging the public to give the new Chief Minister time. “Politics is a huge responsibility. We should give him at least two years.”

Rajinikanth also called on Vijay’s supporters to be responsible when there is a huge expectation.

“We have seen 60 years,” he said, referring to the decades-long domination of the DMK and AIADMK. “Maybe a change was needed.”

The remarks carried an unusual historical resonance in Tamil Nadu’s cinema-politics continuum. From M G Ramachandran to Vijayakanth and now Vijay, Tamil cinema has repeatedly produced mass leaders who converted screen charisma into electoral power. Rajinikanth alone remained the great suspended possibility — the superstar who stood closest to political entry for decades, only to finally step away citing health concerns.

On Sunday, he appeared content watching another actor complete the journey he never took.

Asked about attending Vijay’s swearing-in ceremony, Rajinikanth said he had never attended a Chief Minister’s swearing-in before.

Now, nearly three decades later, Tamil Nadu has another actor-Chief Minister. And Rajinikanth, after years of being projected as the man who might one day inherit that role, has publicly chosen admiration over rivalry.

“There is a huge expectation from you,” he said, referring to Vijay. “All the best.”