Superstar Rajinikanth left for the Himalayas on Saturday for his annual pilgrimage. "My trip will be for a minimum for 15 days," he told journalists at the airport. He declined to take further questions.

This is Rajinikanth's first trip to the Himalayas since his announcement in December 31 last year that he would enter politics.

The actor, who has promised a new line of 'spiritual politics', had said his (yet-to-be named) party would contest all 234 seats in the next Assembly polls in 2021.

Two of Rajinikanth's films are slated for release after his return, the first Kaala a Karikalan on April 27. Magnum opus 2.0, directed by Shankar, also starring Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar, will be released later.