Superstar Rajinikanth was admitted to a hospital in Hyderabad on December 25 after his blood pressure showed severe fluctuation.
“He is stable and is resting,” Apollo Hospitals said in a bulletin in the evening. He will remain in the hospital and undergo further investigations on December 26.
The 70-year-old actor was in Hyderbad for the shooting of the film Annaatthe for the last 10 days. He isolated himself after four members of the film unit tested positive for COVID-19.
He was brought to the hospital at Jubilee Hills around 11 a.m.
In an afternoon bulletin, the hospital said, “Mr. Rajinikanth has been admitted to the hospital today in the morning.” He was shooting for a movie in Hyderabad for the last 10 days. Couple of people on the sets had tested positive for COVID-19. Mr. Rajinikanth was tested on December 22 and he was negative. Since then, he had isolated himself and was monitored closely.”
The release said that though he did not have any COVID-19 symptom, his blood pressure showed severe fluctuation and needed further evaluation, for which he was admitted to the hospital.
He will be investigated and monitored closely till his blood pressure settles down before being discharged. Apart from fluctuating blood pressure and exhaustion, he does not have any other symptom and is hemodynamically stable, the release said.
Sources at the hospital told The Hindu that Mr. Rajinikanth was accompanied by his daughter Aishwarya Dhanush. Soon after admission, a team of specialists conducted a series of tests on him. Mr. Rajinikanth is put up in a special room and is under round-the-clock monitoring, sources said.
In the evening, the hospital said he was being monitored closely and “medications to control his blood pressure are being carefully titrated.” His family and treating doctors requested all well-wishers to avoid visiting the hospital as he was not being allowed to meet visitors.
Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan spoke to the doctors and wished the actor a speedy recovery.
The shooting of Annaatthe, being produced by Kalanithi Maran under his Sun Pictures banner, has been postponed.
“Superstar Rajinikanth and other crew members have tested negative,” Sun Pictures said in a message posted on its official Twitter handle. According to the tweet put out two days ago, during routine testing at the shoot, four crew members have tested positive. To ensure safety, the shooting was postponed, it said.
Last week, Rajinikanth took a chartered flight from Chennai to Hyderabad. He was accompanied by his daughter Aishwarya Dhanush. Major portions of the film, which is directed by Siruthai Siva, are being shot at the Ramoji Rao Film City. Almost 80% of the shooting was completed before the lockdown, and the rest is being shot in Hyderabad in compliance with the COVID-19 protocol.