3 minutes of readingNew DelhiJanuary 29, 2026 02:43 pm IST
Tales of Rajinikanth’s generosity is well known in the Indian film industry as the actor has always been kind to his co-stars and crew despite being one of the biggest stars in Indian films. Although there has been someone in your position who have acted arrogantly, Rajinikanth has always maintained a calm and collected demeanor, suggesting that He doesn’t take his stardom too seriously.. In a recent chat, actor Arvind Swamy recalled one such incident from his first film where he accidentally slept in Rajinikanth’s bed and woke up to find the star sleeping on the floor.
Arvind made his debut in the 1991 film Thalapathi, directed by Mani Ratnam, starring Rajinikanth and Mammootty. Recalling an incident from his early days on a film set, Arvind shared that he was not well aware of the hierarchy that is often practiced on film sets and did not realize that there were certain protocols that needed to be followed. “I was new to all this. I didn’t know the hierarchy. I didn’t know about protocol. Our industry is a bit… a bit artificial in the sense of this protocol business, so one day I arrived early for a shoot. I was tired, so I found a bed, lay down on it and went to sleep,” he shared during his talk at the Melbourne Indian Film Festival.
Arvind shared that when he woke up, he saw Rajinikanth sleeping on the floor. “I woke up and saw Rajini sir sleeping on the floor in the same room. I entered his room and slept on the bed,” he shared. Arvind remembers being shocked to see this: “I mean, why should I sleep on the floor?”
It was then that the star’s makeup artist informed him that Rajinikanth had told him not to bother the young actor. “His makeup artist said, ‘He told me not to bother you.’ “That’s Rajini, sir,” he recalled, and the crowd erupted in applause.
Arvind shared that this gesture from the star taught him a lot. “It’s a very sensitive thing for someone to not want to wake someone up. It’s not like he’s thinking, ‘He’s a newcomer, why is he here? Just kick him out’ or something like that. At the same time, he’s very comfortable laying on the floor and sleeping and he was just doing that. I mean, there’s so many things you can learn from that incident,” he said.