Chennai, May 19: The good news is that Rajinikanth is recovering. The bad news is that he is a normal person like everyone else.

“Rajinikanth is a human and has a normal body,” wife Latha said today in what should be a shock to some of the superstar’s most fanatical admirers who often credit him with the supernatural powers his screen characters display.

The tendency has given rise to countless Rajini SMS jokes, such as one that has air “hiding” in his lungs out of fear. But Latha said that all that was hiding in the actor’s lungs, and was being removed now, was an infection.

“Please do understand that he is a normal human being and, like normal human beings, has a normal body prone to infection. He… is recovering fast,” Latha said.

There was further good news for the family, with the superstar’s son-in-law Dhanush winning the national award for best actor, a prize for which Rajini, 60, himself was in contention.

The actor, admitted to hospital on Friday, was shifted last night to the ICU.

A doctor said: “Rajini’s illness is due to infection, and his refusal to remain in sterile conditions.... When he was in (St) Isabel (Hospital earlier), he took permission to visit a temple, which is a silly thing to do.”