Indian superstar Rajinikanth has a massive fan base in India and abroad, even though he has worked mainly in Tamil films and a few Hindi movies.
As the superstar turns 71 on 12th December, 2021, here is a brief on his life.
Rajinikanth is one of the most influential film stars of Indian cinema. Besides, he has worked as a screenwriter, film producer and also a playback singer. He has also received Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, for his contribution to Indian cinema.
Rajinikanth was born as Shivaji Rao Gaekwad to Jijabai and Ramojirao Gaekwad, a police constable, in a Marathi family in Karnataka, India. He was the fourth child of his parents. His ancestors are from the NachiKuppam village in Krishnagiri district, Tamil Nadu.
The actor lost his mother when he was just 8-year-old. He did his schooling from the Acharya Paathshala in Basavanagudi, Bangalore, and then at the Vivekananda Balaka Sangha.
Rajinikanth married Latha Parthasarathy in 1981 in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. The couple has two daughters named Aishwarya Rajinikanth and Soundarya Rajinikanth.
He joined the Madras Film institute in 1973 with the help of his friend Raj Bahadur, a fellow bus driver and completed a basic course in acting. In the film institute, Rajini was helped by his Vice-Principal A. Prabhakaran.
Rajinikanth has acted in about 190 movies, which includes Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, English and Bengali. The actor made his debut in Bollywood in 1983 with the film Andha Kanoon. He was cast alongside Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan and south Indian actress Hema Malini, but he did not make as much of an impact as he had in the south.
He acted in many other Hindi films such as Chaalbaaz, Uttar Dakshin, Geraftaar, Bewafai, Hum, Bhagwaan Dada, Aatank Hi Aatank, 2.0, etc. He made his Hollywood debut with the film Bloodstone in 1988 which failed in the United States.
Rajinikanth Top Hits:
Apoorva Raagangal (1975)
Superstar Rajinikanth started his career in 1975 with director K Balachander’s film ‘Apoorva Raagangal’ which starred Kamal Haasan in the lead. Here is a list of some of the top films of the superstar over the years.
Moondru Mudichu (1976)
Rajinikanth made a mark with the film ‘Moondru Mudichu’ which was directed by his mentor K Balachander. The movie revolves around three people, a college girl (Sridevi) and two men who fall in love with her (Kamal Haasan and Rajnikanth).
16 Vayathinile (1977)
In this film, the role of Rajnikanth left the audience awestruck. The film starred Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth and Sridevi in the lead once again and went on to win four state awards.
Bairavi (1978)
Rajinikanth earned the superstar title from the film Bhairavi, which had Sripriya, Sreekanth, Geetha, Manorama and Suruli Rajan in important roles. After this, the superstar’s career soared and it was also the first Tamil film to cast Rajinikanth in the main role.
Mullum Malarum (1978)
Rajinikanth received the Best Actor Award at the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards for this film. In this film, the actor played the role of a winch operator Kali, who loved his sister and with this film.
Ninaithale Inikkum (1979)
This film was directed by K Balachander and starred Kamal Haasan, too. Rajnikanth played the role of a guitarist in a music troupe where Kamal Haasan is the lead singer with Jayapradha as the female lead. It was in this film, the superstar was challenged to flip his cigarette 10 times or lose a finger.
Thillu Mullu (1981)
In this comedy film, Rajinikanth played the role of a carefree graduate named Ayyampettai Arivudainambi Kaliyaperumal Chandran. This movie made the viewers laugh their lungs out. This was the first film in which Rajinikanth had to shave his moustache.
Sri Raghavendrar (1985)
In this film, Rajinikanth played the role of the Hindu saint Raghavendra, who is his spiritual guru. Though the performance of Rajinikanth was outstanding, the film flopped at the box office because the fans couldn’t accept their star ending in a tomb.
Bloodstone (1988)
Directed by Dwight Little, the mystery-adventure film Bloodstone was produced by Ashok Amritraj and Sunanda Murali Manohar. Though the film turned out to be a disaster at the box office, it is remembered for Rajinikanth’s debut in Hollywood.
Thalapathi (1991)
Directed by Mani Ratnam, Thalapathi had Rajinikanth, Mammootty, Shobana in the lead roles. This film speaks for itself with amazing performances by Rajinikanth.
Muthu (1995)
Muthu was a blockbuster. The film was later released in Japanese and its success in Japan led American news magazine Newsweek to comment in a 1999 article that Rajinikanth had “supplanted Leonardo DiCaprio as Japan’s trendiest heartthrob.”
Baasaha (1995)
Baashha is an action thriller film starring Rajinikanth, Nagma, and Raghuvaran in which he played the role of a protagonist, who takes revenge for his friend’s murder. The film did well at the box office.
Enthiran (2010)
Rajinikanth was seen in dual roles in this movie. He has played the role of a scientist and a robot opposite Bollywood diva Aishwarya Rai. The superstar’s role as a robot that turns into a villain was highly appreciated by his fans more than his role as the scientist who creates the robot.
Rajinikanth’s Political Career:
Superstar Rajinikanth supported the DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) and TMC (The All India Trinamool Congress) alliance and asked the people of Tamil Nadu and his fans to vote for that alliance. This alliance had a complete victory in the 1996 election. The innately humble actor also supported the DMK-TMC alliance in the parliamentary election, which was held in the same year.
