What is happening to superstar Rajnikanth’s Health?

The superstar of Tamil cinema Rajnikanth’s hospitalization first in India and then in Singapore has been a cause of huge worry to Rajni’s fans.  Why was he getting admitted into the ICU every so often? Why could not doctors in Chennai handle his case why did he have to fly to Singapore for further treatment? On 19^th May his wife, when asked if a trip abroad was being contemplated, said it was “not necessary.” Rajni's health condition is now become the most discussed issues in India and among the Indian diaspora. After all what is  wrong with his health?

Have the hospitals and doctors something to hide.  First they said he had infection in the lung – pneumonia, after this it was fluid in the lung (pleural effusion)  that could be due to heart condition or even cirrhosis of the liver and after a few days they said he needed dialysis because he was fluid overloaded.

All these diagnosis and press releases has so far been hiding the truth. There is possibly a  request to keep the real diagnosis under wraps so as not to cause any panic. However it is important for the fans to know the truth. From all the reports it is quite clear that so far his actual health problem has not been tackled and only his symptoms have been treated.

Let us put all the evidence together and try and work out the real diagnosis. He is known to suffer from diabetes and possibly cirrhosis of liver. This means he is prone to infection and also has slightly lower immunity than the general population. It also means that he is more likely to go into kidney failure. The fluid in the lungs could also be due to tuberculosis or could it have been pulmonary edema – both are possible in diabetics with kidney failure. Diabetic nephropathy or kidney disease, develops slowly over 20 to 30 years among diabetics. Approximately 5 to 10% of people with long standing type 2 diabetes develop kidney failure. However this is 25 % in people with type 1 diabetes. The risk of kidney failure and the rate at which it develops can be reduced by good blood glucose and blood pressure control; though Rajni is a disciplined person, but being an actor he has followed an erratic routine and this was not good for his sugar control and his health.

Rajnikanth left a voice clip that was sent to the media and fans by his daughter Soundhariya before he left Chennai. In this he said - "I am happily going about my routine. Will come as soon the treatment gets over," Rajinikanth said in his one-minute message. "How can I reciprocate the love you have shown for me? I get money for acting, for that you are showering so much love. How will I pay you all back?"
"I will conduct myself in such a way that I will never let down all my fans throughout the world. I have God's blessings and the blessings of the Guru. Above all, I have the blessing of all my fans who are the manifestation of God," he added. .

The world and his fans  prays for him and hope him well but one thing is certain – it is not as simple as he or his doctors have put it. Eventually he will need a ‘kidney transplantation’ to recover and this may well shorten his acting career. The tragedy also is that it almost seems, that Tamil Nadu’s superstars with cult following seem to be  prone to kidney failure. First it was MGR who suffered from it and succumbed to it and now is it Rajni’s turn.