Actor Rajinikanth on Saturday said he was cancelling his visit to Sri Lanka scheduled for April 9 because of protests against his participation in an event, PTI reported. Rajinikanth was slated to unveil a housing scheme introduced by the Lyca Group for displaced Tamils in Jaffna city.

Leaders of several pro-Tamil groups and political parties, including the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, had urged him to refrain from participating in the event citing political reasons. “Although I could not wholeheartedly accept what they said, I avoid attending the function heeding their request,” the veteran actor said in a statement.

Rajinikanth said he was an actor and not a politician, and his duty was to entertain people. “If I get the privilege of witnessing that divine soil in the future by visiting there and entertaining the people, kindly do not politicise that visit,” he said. The actor said he was also scheduled to meet Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena to talk about the problems faced by Tamil fishermen.

“There was a long-time desire in me to set foot on that brave soil where lakhs of [Tamil] people gave their lives for the cause of their race,” he further said.

Lyca Group, owned by Subhashkaran Allirajah, is producing Rajinikanth’s upcoming film 2.0, a sequel to Endhiran. In 2014, Tamil outfits had accused Lyca Group of having close business ties with then Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The outfits held Rajapaksa responsible for the deaths of several Tamil civilians in 2009 during the fight against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.