‘Rajinikanth’s fans collected the sand he walked on, thought of it as prasad’: Co-star Sheeba Akashdeep on working with the Superstar

In a tell-all chat with Pinkvilla, Sheeba opened up about understanding the superstardom of Rajinikanth, and being floored by the humility of the superstar. “He is the most humble man I’ve ever had the opportunity to meet. He is a such a huge star, and yet so humble,” said Sheeba, who went on to try to explain the phenomenon of Rajinikanth. “Even during 4 am shoots, there would be 1000s of people lined up to get a glimpse of him. I even saw people collect the sand he walked on, and used it as a divine offering… like a prasad. People used to come up with huge rose garlands and adorn him with them,” said Sheeba.

Stressing on his humility, Sheeba pointed out how he never let his stardom affect him, and remained down to earth always. “I met him after many years in an event, and after seeing me, he walked up and spoke to me. He remembered me,” said Sheeba, who added that there were times when she moved away from people she once knew thinking they’d not remember her. “But these huge actors like Shah Rukh Khan or Rajini sir go out of their way to come meet us.”

Reminiscing about the lessons she learnt on the sets of Athisaya Piravi, which was her first-ever appearance in front of the camera, Sheeba said it was Rajinikanth who helped her a lot. “He spoke to me a lot to try help me out with on-camera acting. He would enquire if I understood what was required, and asked the ADs to teach me better if there were some gaps in learning. In fact, he was the one who taught me that I don’t have to randomly mumble something while a long shot is being canned. He asked me not to get too tensed,” said Sheeba, who manifested a potential reunion with Rajinikanth in the future.

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Sheeba, who was recently seen in Jigra and Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani, hasn’t starred in a Tamil film since Athisaya Piravi.