Indian film megastar Rajinikanth is to be discharged from hospital and fly to Singapore, doctors said Friday, just over a week after he was taken into intensive care.
Doctors at the private Sri Ramachandra hospital in the southern city of Chennai declined to say whether his treatment would continue in Singapore, which has some of the best medical facilities in Asia.
Rajinikanth has had fluid drained from his lungs to ease a breathing complaint and some dialysis for a kidney ailment. "Singapore is a place to relax and enjoy and if someone is visiting Singapore it is for rest and recuperation," one doctor said.
Rajinikanth, a former Bangalore bus conductor, is one of Indian cinema's biggest stars and inspires a near god-like devotion from his legions of fans. He was taken ill at the end of April on the first day of shooting for his new film "Rana" (The Monarch) and has been in and out of hospital ever since, sparking a vigil by fans and prayers for his swift recovery.
Tickets for a Singapore Airlines flight have been booked for Rajinikanth's two daughters, one son-in-law, a doctor who treated him in Chennai and his driver, a source at Chennai airport said. Rajinikanth, who is often referred to in southern Tamil Nadu state simply as "The Superstar", had been booked in as a wheelchair passenger.
