Rajinikanth emotionally recalls late actor Sarath Babu’s ‘quit smoking’ advice to him

By PTI

CHENNAI: Superstar Rajinikanth on Tuesday paid rich tributes to his deceased actor-friend Sarath Babu and recalled the latter’s advice to him to quit smoking, saying the late veteran would even snatch away the stub and put it out if he saw him smoking.

Mindful of his friend’s views, he would not smoke in front of Sarath Babu, Rajinikanth said after paying tributes to the mortal remains of the actor here.

Sarath Babu, 71, died on Monday in a Hyderabad hospital while undergoing treatment for multiple organ failure.

His mortal remains were later brought here.

The veteran said he knew Sarath Babu even before becoming an actor and that they were good friends.

“I have never seen him getting serious or angry. You all know that all the films I acted with him are very big hits — Mullum Malarum, Muthu, Annamalai and Velaikkaran. He had great love and affection for me. He would always regret about me smoking, will ask me to quit it for a long life. If he would see me smoking, he would snatch the cigarette and put it out. So, I would not smoke before him,” Rajinikanth told reporters.

However, indicating that Sarath Babu gave an exception to this, the top star recalled how the former calmed him down by getting a cigarette when an important scene in ‘Annamalai’ did not materialise as desired.

“In Annamalai, there is this important scene of challenging (Rajinikanth taking on Sarath Babu after their friendship turns sour) and took lot of retakes as the emotions did not come out properly. He got me a cigarette and after that I felt relaxed and the take was approved. He always advised me about good health but he is no more now,” Rajinikanth reminisced.

A number of Tamil cinema personalities including actors Surya, Karthi and Suhasini paid tributes to Sarath Babu.

READ HERE | Remembering actor Sarath Babu: A man who was everybody’s best friend 

<br /> CHENNAI: Superstar Rajinikanth on Tuesday paid rich tributes to his deceased actor-friend Sarath Babu and recalled the latter’s advice to him to quit smoking, saying the late veteran would even snatch away the stub and put it out if he saw him smoking.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.84 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad200503 " id="quads-ad200503" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.84 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="1823845571"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>Mindful of his friend’s views, he would not smoke in front of Sarath Babu, Rajinikanth said after paying tributes to the mortal remains of the actor here.</p> <p>Sarath Babu, 71, died on Monday in a Hyderabad hospital while undergoing treatment for multiple organ failure.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });</p> <p>His mortal remains were later brought here.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.84 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad200503 " id="quads-ad200503" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.84 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="1823845571"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>The veteran said he knew Sarath Babu even before becoming an actor and that they were good friends.</p> <p>“I have never seen him getting serious or angry. You all know that all the films I acted with him are very big hits — Mullum Malarum, Muthu, Annamalai and Velaikkaran. He had great love and affection for me. He would always regret about me smoking, will ask me to quit it for a long life. If he would see me smoking, he would snatch the cigarette and put it out. So, I would not smoke before him,” Rajinikanth told reporters.</p> <p>However, indicating that Sarath Babu gave an exception to this, the top star recalled how the former calmed him down by getting a cigarette when an important scene in ‘Annamalai’ did not materialise as desired.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.84 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad200503 " id="quads-ad200503" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.84 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="1823845571"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>“In Annamalai, there is this important scene of challenging (Rajinikanth taking on Sarath Babu after their friendship turns sour) and took lot of retakes as the emotions did not come out properly. He got me a cigarette and after that I felt relaxed and the take was approved. He always advised me about good health but he is no more now,” Rajinikanth reminisced.</p> <p>A number of Tamil cinema personalities including actors Surya, Karthi and Suhasini paid tributes to Sarath Babu.</p> <p>READ HERE | Remembering actor Sarath Babu: A man who was everybody’s best friend <br />