For Bangladeshis, one of the biggest challenges while touring Chennai is the language barrier.

While in India, Bangladeshis usually interact with the locals in Hindi - a foreign language most people in the country have a decent understanding of thanks to Bollywood movies.

But in Chennai, the knowledge of Hindi is of little to no use. Hardly anyone speaks the language in the region. The locals speak in Tamil, the official language of the Tamil Nadu state. The only other language one can hear while roaming around the city is English.

So, the Bangladeshi tourists have to resort to a mix of English words and animated hand gestures to communicate with the locals, often unsuccessfully. This language barrier makes traveling around the city a hassle.

However, this problem dissipates by the mention of one person. As soon as his name is uttered, the locals know exactly where a non-Tamil speaking tourist wants to go.

That person, of course, is the Indian movie superstar Rajnikanth. 

The 72-year-old actor is one of the biggest icons of the silver screen South India has ever produced and is revered as a deity in Chennai.

His residence in Chennai is like a tourist attraction as his fans from across the globe come to this part of the world to go to his home, hoping to catch a glimpse of the iconic actor.

After landing in Chennai yesterday to cover Bangladesh's third match in the ICC ODI World Cup against New Zealand, this correspondent had some time to spare in the afternoon in between filing reports and decided to use this window to visit Rajnikanth's residence.

All this correspondent had to do was utter the name, 'Rajnikanth' and the autorickshaw driver immediately knew where I wanted to go. He nodded his head with a smile on his face and without any further delay, I started my journey to the superstar's home.

It didn't take long to reach Poes Garden, the posh residential area where Rajnikanth lives. 

Rajnikanth's residence in Chennai. Photo: Mazhar Uddin

The autorickshaw was stopped by security at a dead end. The correspondent completed the rest of the journey on foot and before long, I was standing in front of a two-storied duplex villa with the name plate 'Rajnikanth' outside the main gate.

This correspondent wasn't alone as many other Rajni fans were standing in front of 18, Raghava Veera Avenue, Poes Garden, clicking photos.

The superstar, however, was not at home as he was out of town, shooting his upcoming movie.  

I thought I would have to stay content with a few pictures with the superstar's home in the backdrop.

But after the polite guards got to know that I had come all the way from Bangladesh, they gave me a photo of Rajnikanth along with his autograph written 'God bless.'  

The guards also asked me to write down my name and phone number in the visitor's diary. They said that Rajnikanth checks the diary often and even calls the visitors if he feels like it.  

This was just one of many kind acts Rajnikanth is renowned for. The South Indian movie star is known for providing food for the hungry, funding education of poor children and building old age homes all across the country.  

Even though I couldn't see him in person, it was a great experience. And since that visit, every time my phone rings and I see an unknown number come up on screen, I pick it up in a hurry, hoping that the man on the other side is the superstar himself.