2 Aug – Tamil movie star Rajnikanth, or fondly referred to as Superstar, together with Bollywood darling Aishwarya Rai drew the loudest cheers last Saturday night as an international audio launch for a Tamil blockbuster was held in Malaysia for the very first time.

A host of movie stars, politicians and various industry players and dignitaries graced the red carpet. Those who attended the show include S. Shankar, Simbu, Radha Ravi, Kalanidhi Maran, Dayanithi Maran, Sangeetha, Krish, Vadivel and Vairamuthu.

L-R: A.R. Rahman, Aishwarya Rai, Rajnikanth, Kalanidhi Maran, Vairamuthu and Shankar

"Endhiran" lead actress Aishwarya Rai joins co- star Rajnikanth in the audience, as she arrived midway though the show.

The primary host for the night at a capacity-crowd Putrajaya International Convention Centre was comedian Vivek while Malaysian TV hostess Geetha also had some stage time. The audio of the film was officially launched jointly by Kalanidhi Maran, Rajnikanth, Shankar, Aishwarya Rai, AR Rahman and Vairamuthu.

Among the tracks showcased for the night were "Kilimanjaro", "Arima Arima" and "Kadhal Anukkal", while there was also an amazing Shaolin Monk martial arts dance sequence that Rajnikanth himself gave a standing ovation to.

Comedian Vivek was host for the night

The highlight of the four-hour long show, which was saved for last, was Rajnikanth's speech, in which he thanked all the people who made it possible and also called his illustrious leading lady a woman who is "beauty with brains", while also expressing his wish for "Endhiran" to run 200 days in Malaysian cinemas. However, the most embarrassing moment was when Aishwarya Rai (who arrived separately and spoke in English) finished her speech without mentioning his distinguished co-star and had to run back to the microphone stand to continue for another five minutes.

Rajnikanth & Sun Pictures producer Kalanidhi Maran

Rajnikanth's daughters

Director S. Shankar

Malaysian singer DJ Dave

"Endhiran" (variants: "Enthiran", "Robot", "Robo-speed: 1 Tera Hz memory: 1 Zetta Byte") is reportedly the most expensive film ever made in India, with a worldwide release on 3 September 2010 that is expected to break all known records for an Indian title. Its domestic rights rests within Sun Pictures in India but none has come forward to claim regional distributorship in Malaysia and Singapore yet.

Actor Simbhu

Composer AR Rahman

Robot character greets crow

More pictures from this event are available in the gallery section.