Chennai. The team of actor Rajinikanth late on Saturday night did a ‘U’ turn, saying that a ‘Meet and Greet Thalaivar’ contest that they had termed fake earlier in the day was in fact very much valid.
Superstar Rajinikanth’s publicist Riaz Ahmed late on Saturday night, quoting the tweet he had put out earlier, wrote, “Clarification Statement! Due to an earlier miscommunication, there was some confusion regarding the Coolie Meet & Greet Thalaivar contest by Malik Streams. We now confirm that the contest is valid, organised with the required details, and open for participation. We thank all fans for their understanding and unwavering support.”
The confusion began on Saturday morning when Superstar Rajinikanth’s publicist Riaz Ahmed put out a clarification that a ‘Meet and Greet Thalaivar’ contest that was being promoted by well known distribution firm Malik Streams in Malaysia had been announced without obtaining prior permission from the actor. Rajinikanth’s team urged fans and the general public not to be misled by the announcement.
In his post, publicist Riaz Ahmed said, “Dear All, we would like to clarify that the “Meet & Greet Thalaivar” contest that is currently being promoted by Malik Streams in Malaysia is completely unauthorised, fake, and has been announced without obtaining any prior permission from Thalaivar.”
The publicist went on to add, “We strongly advise fans and the public not to participate or engage in this misleading activity. We request your kind cooperation in spreading this clarification to ensure that fans are not misled.”
However, late on Saturday night, the publicist issued the second clarification, this time saying that the ‘Meet and Greet Thalaivar’ contest was in fact valid and open for participation.
It may be recalled that a couple of days ago, the distribution firm Malik Streams had put out an announcement poster on its Instagram handle that read, “COOLIE WATCH & WIN CONTEST. The chance of a lifetime: Meet & Greet with Superstar Rajinikanth awaits! All you have to do is: Purchase Coolie movie tickets, Post them on your Instagram feed (public account), Use #COOLIEWW2025.”
The announcement poster further said, “Only the Top 3 highest purchasers will win this golden opportunity.”
It also had a list of rules and regulations. It said that to enter the contest, contestants should purchase movie tickets for Coolie and post them on their Instagram feeds (not stories). Their Instagram accounts must be public and they should include the hashtag #COOLIEWW2025 in their posts.
Stating that tickets could be purchased in multiple transactions, but the movie, date, showtime, hall, and cinema location must be the same, the distribution firm had said that only tickets dated on or after August 21 would be accepted.
The distribution firm also said that each Instagram account was allowed only one entry and that the minimum entry requirement was 50 tickets. The top three highest ticket purchasers would win an exclusive Meet & Greet with Superstar Rajinikanth, it said.
