Rajinikanth (Reuters)
Rajinikanth Reuters

Indian actor Rajinikanth has now joined Twitter, and has managed to garner over 81,000 followers within hours of his arrival. The actor's social media entrance can be compared to that of Pope Benedict XVI, who managed a similar feat in 2012. His handle happens to be @superstarrajini. Check it out here.

The star is adding thousands to his follower list by the minute, indicating that fans around the globe are eager to access his social media feed. Reports indicate that the actor managed to garner over 20,000 followers long before he posted his first tweet.

Below is the first tweet from his account.

Apart from clicking the "follow" button on the micro blogging site, fans can also leave a missed call at 91-080 6700 6666 to access his tweets via cellphones if they are not using a Twitter app. The development comes ahead of the release of his much-talked about film Kochadaiiyaan.

"I decided to start with Twitter because I felt that the platform is abuzz with all the news and the trends that happen across the globe and I'm told that this is where all the best Rajini one-liners are," the 63-year-old said in a statement.

"I've always believed that my career graph is a miracle I owe my fans. I have been contemplating joining the social media platform for a while to connect with them, hear what they have to say and share my thoughts. Unfortunately, I never got around to it until now," he said.

Twitter's India market director Rishi Jaitly said: "We welcome Rajinikanth to Twitter, are happy to support his launch on the platform, and look forward to watching him use our mobile service to engage in live, public conversations with fans and other icons around the world."

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