In what is being hailed as an "unprecedented and historic gesture", the actor, Rajnikant, is said to have refunded "crores of rupees" to exhibitors and distributors to "fully compensate all losses" incurred on his home production `Baba', the association of distributors and exhibitors announced in the city today.

Maintaining that it was still registering more `collections' than any other film playing in theatres, representatives of 116 exhibitors from Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka clarified that the term `losses' was the difference between the money actually invested by the exhibitors and distributors as minimum guarantee (MG) and the actual `collections'.

"He (Rajnikant) was particular that no one suffered losses because of him," G.Venkateswaran of the GV Films said, speaking at a function organised by the exhibitors and distributors to thank the actor.

Interestingly, there was a request from a section of the distributors to the superstar that he do another film to set right the losses.

"I can't do another film for debt. Let's clear this first and then think about another film," the actor, had apparently said.