JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL
47 Years of Rajinikanth: An inspiring from rags-to-riches story of a superstar
Rajinikanth's mass appeal that goes beyond South India is a feat managed by only a handful of non-Bollywood actors.
"This boy has fire in his eyes. He will be a phenomenon someday," said Balachander, who gave Shivaji Rao Gaekwad a break in the industry as Rajinikanth.
Rajinikanth is not just a name but an emotion for millions! There are a lot of people from the film industry who grew up idolising Rajinikanth. His film release is nothing short of a festival not just in Tamil Nadu but also across the country. Profoundly called Thailava by his fans and peers, the actor began his career with K. Balachander's 1975 film Apoorva Raagangal. His hard work has earned him today a 'god-like' status.
Well, Rajinikanth completes 47 years in the industry. However, the journey of becoming a superstar was not an easy one. Born to a Maharashtrian mother in Bangalore, Rajinikanth's birth name is Shivaji Rao Gaekwad named after Chhatrapati Shivaji. Growing up in a humble middle-class family, Rajinikanth struggled throughout his early days of life. First, he worked as a coolie, did a carpenter job, carried rice sacks for money, and finally, he gave an exam to become a bus conductor working with Bangalore Transport Service. 
He managed to win hearts with his aura even as a bus conductor so much that people would skip other buses and wait to be on the bus of this young and charming conductor. Having lost his mother at the age of 9, the Sivaji actor later did theatre and it was Sivaji Ganesan who drew him to the cinema. He got himself enrolled at Madras Film Institute with some financial help from a friend and was noticed by the Tamil film director K. Balachander. Since then, there has been no looking back!
Note, back in the days of Tamil cinema, there was this two-horse race MGR-Sivaji and later Kamal-Rajini. While Rajinikanth was seen as an angry young man, Kamal Haasan pitched himself as a romantic hero.
There is one superstar and no comparison!
He is 71 now and like no other! He has got the same charm and aura to pull the crowd to the theatres. After Apoorva Raagangal released in 1975, Rajinikanth got a few negative as well as positive roles in the films.
It was only the start of an era!
The late 70s and early 80s were the time of Rajinikanth. He played comedy characters in films like Mullum Malarum, Johnny, Thillu Mullu which went on to become massive hits. He was a legit one-man army show. He became one of the bankable stars after the continuous success of his films at the box office. On his winning streak since the 70s, he gave a series of commercially successful films Naan Sigappu Manithan, Padikkathavan, Mr. Bharath, Velaikaran and Dharmathin Thalaivan, and Thalapathi, Annamalai, Mannan, Veera and Baasha in the 90s. At the same time, he got into Hindi cinema. He shared screen space with Amitabh Bachchan, and Rajesh Khanna and also made an appearance in his only Hollywood film titled Bloodstone.
The big success of Annamalai.
Released in 1992, Annamalai was yet another friendship-centric film and was loosely based on the 1987 Bollywood film Khudgarz. At the success meet of his blockbuster movie Annamalai, 27 years ago, opened up on the huge debate over his huge remuneration. Defending himself, Rajini had said, "I am told that I am asking huge paycheck. If I am demanding a hefty remuneration it is because I know my market. If you suffer losses I would definitely compensate for the loss. If you get profit, please don't share it with me, but please let me honestly know how much you made which will make me happy."
30 years since, "Mala da, Annamala…" and it still continues to be the most favourite film of Rajinikanth. 27 June, to be specific when Annamalai hit the big screens. As said by director Suresh Krissna, the rags-to-riches story, became its own template.
Rajinikanth's mass appeal that goes beyond South India is a feat managed by only a handful of non-Bollywood actors.
Latest Articles
