Mumbai, Jan 29 (IANS): Tamil megastar Rajinikanth, who is gearing up for the release of his upcoming film ‘Lal Salaam’, has defended his daughter Aishwarya Rajinikanth, who objected to her father being called "Sanghi."

The megastar said that his daughter didn’t use the word ‘Sanghi’ in a wrong sense. He said that Aishwarya never said that Sanghi is a bad word.

The actor told the media: “My daughter never said that Sanghi [the term] was a bad word. She questioned why her father was being branded that way when he is into spirituality.”

Earlier, speaking at the audio launch of 'Lal Salaam' in Chennai, Aishwarya had said: "I generally stay away from social media, but my team often tells me what's happening and keep showing some posts. I used to get angry seeing them. We're human beings too. In recent times, many people call my father a Sanghi.”

She further mentioned: “I didn't know what it meant. I then asked someone what the meaning of Sanghi was, and they said that people who support a particular political party are called Sanghi. I'd like to make it clear here, Rajinikanth is not a Sanghi. If he was, he wouldn't have done a film like 'Lal Salaam'.”

Rajinikanth, who was last seen in the blockbuster film ‘Jailer’, will have an extended cameo in ‘Lal Salaam’.