Amitabh Bachchan is the only superstar: Rajinikanth

London: His stardom has transcended borders and the fan frenzy Rajinikanth generates is unmatchable but the veteran thespian says that Amitabh Bachchan is the only one who can be called a superstar. When asked about how he felt about being a superstar, Rajinikanth, who was here to promote his upcoming film ‘Kochadiyaan’, said, "For me, the only superstar is Amitabh Bachchan."

"For me every film is like the first picture. I am very choosy with the director and producer," said the 61-year-old, who has given hits like ‘Chandramukhi’, ‘Sivaji’ and ‘Robot’. Rajinikanth, who was admitted in the hospital and treated for dehydration and exhaustion some time back, said, "I am 90 per cent fine now, thanks to the prayers of my fans." He is now gearing up for the release of ‘Kochadiyaan’, a Tamil period film directed by his daughter Soundarya and with music by AR Rahman, this Diwali on November 13. "Kochadaiyaan is a fantasy film. It will attract not only children but everyone. It will be of international standards and the film will be ready by Diwali November 13 this year," Rajinikanth said at the Bentley Hotel here last evening. ‘Kochadiyaan’ is partly inspired by the name of the Pandya Dynasty king Kochadaiyan Ranadhiran and the plot will be a fictional account with small references to history. "I will have the new experience of singing in the film. It is going to be very different," said Rajinikanth, who will be singing a song for a film after 21 years. The track will be a philosophical theme song composed by Rahman and penned by Vairamuthu. Earlier he had sung a song called 'Adikuthu Kuliru' in the film ‘Mannan’ that was released in 1992. His daughter Soundarya, who is making her debut as a director with ‘Kochadaiyaan’, said, "We have just completed the shoot. Technically, the film will be one of its kind. Visually it is going to be spectacular." The film stars Rajinikanth alongside Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone, Jackie Shroff, South Indian actors R Sarathkumar, Aadhi, Shobana, Rukmini Vijayakuar and Nassar. Touted as a first within the Indian realm of movie-making, the film features the unique visual mastery of Performance Capturing with Photorealistic Technology. This state-of the art advanced technology transcends the CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) capabilities utilised in Hollywood films such as ‘Avatar’, ‘Adventures of Tintin’ and ‘Beowulf’. "Kochadaiyaan is something new and it will not disappoint people," said Rajinikanth, adding that it will be dubbed in Japanese as well. He said he had been to London many times. "I always loved this ancient and historic city. I had been here 25 years ago working for a movie. I missed to buy a house at that time. Now I will." Noting that music will have an important role in the film, Rahman said, "We have finished two songs and working on two more." PTI