Rajinikanth (Kannada:; Marathi:; Tamil:) (born Shivaji Rao Gaekwad on December 12, 1950) is one of the most influential and bankable movie stars in Indian cinema. Rajnikanth’s mass popularity and appeal is largely drawn from his mannerisms and stylized delivery of dialogue. He received India’s third highest honour, the Padma Bhushan, for his contribution to Indian cinema. Apart from his film career, he has is also a well known philanthropist and also serves as a notable political influence. Other than acting, Rajinikanth worked as a screenwriter, film producer and also a playback singer.
Popularily referred to and credited in films as superstar and fondly called as “thalaivar” (meaning leader in Tamil), Rajinikanth debuted in Tamil films in 1975 under the direction of K. Balachander in supporting roles. He was later favoured in portraying antagonistic characters and gradually rose to acting in lead roles. Being a well known film artist to all regional film industries of India, he also appeared in the cinemas of other nations, including Hollywood. He was reportedly paid Rs. 26 crores (about $6.25 million USD) for his latest blockbuster Film Sivaji: The Boss, making him the highest paid actor in Asia after Jackie Chan.
Rajinikanth was born in a Maratha family in Karnataka, India. He was the fourth child of his parents, Jijabai and Ramojirao Gaekwad. He was named Shivajirao Gaekwad. Gaekwad is a family name among the Marathas. He lost his mother at the age of five. His residence was located at Hanumantha Nagar in Bangalore.
Personal life
He married Latha, cousin to actor Y. G. Mahendran, on February 26, 1981, at the age of 31 in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh and they have two daughters named Aishwarya and Soundarya Rajinikanth. Latha currently runs a school named The Ashram. His elder daughter Aishwariya married actor Dhanush on November 18, 2004 and they have one son named Yathra. His second daughter, Soundarya Rajinikanth, works in the film industry as a director, producer and graphic designer.
Apart from being a well known actor, he shows a keen interest and devotion to religeous activities and spiritualism. He often takes periodic trips to the Himalayas where, according to the actor, it is a place that provides peace. He also often visits Tirupati, where he was married, for prayers and pujas. His trips to Tirupati or the Himalayas often take place after the filming of one of his movies has been been completed
Career
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 he was helped by his fellow student Chiranjeevi and the Vice Principal A. Prabhakaran.
Rajinikanth has acted in a total 173 movies, which includes Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, English and Bengali films. Rajinikanth made a foray into Bollywood with Andha Kanoon but did not make as much of an impact as he had in the south. He still appeared a few films in Hindi, such as Chaalbaaz with Sridevi, Uttar Dakshan, Geraftaar and Hum. He made his Hollywood debut with the movie Bloodstone in 1988 with much fanfare in India at the time of its release. However, the movie failed in the United States. He also made brief stints in German- and Japanese film industries. His film Muthu was dubbed into Japanese and later turned out to become a major hit in the country, ultimately creating a huge Japanese fan-following for Rajni. In 2005, his film Chandramukhi was dubbed in German and released in all German-speaking nations.
Upcoming films
During the course of the production for Sivaji, Ocher Studios, the animation company of Rajinikanth’s daughter Soundarya Rajinikanth, in association with Adlabs announced their intention of producing a CGI animation film starring an animated version of Rajinikanth. He will be lending his voice to the lead character (based on his likeness) and the project is titled Sultan: The Warrior; it will be directed by his daughter Soundarya Rajinikanth with music provided by A. R. Rahman. The movie is scheduled for a April 2009 release. Rajinikanth has also been signed to work with the Sivaji team of S. Shankar and A. R. Rahman once again for another magnum opus, an alleged science fiction thriller tentatively entitled Endhiran. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan will finally play opposite Rajinikanth as heroine for the first time; the film is touted to be the biggest and costliest film venture yet in India. It is being produced by Ayngaran International and Eros Labs and slated for theatrical release sometime in 2010.
A. R. Murugadoss has shown interest in directing Rajinikanth in his next feature film after Ghajini. It is also said that Rajinikanth had voluntarily came forth to be casted in Pyramid Saimira’s next production, in order to compensate for the colossal flop of Kuselan.
Awards and honours
Rajinikanth was named as one of the influential persons in South Asia by Asiaweek. He has won a Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award for the film Nallavanuku Nallavan in 1984. Rajinikanth, despite these awards, has not yet received a National Film Award.
Between 1977 and 2005, Rajinikanth received several awards from Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, Filmfare Awards, Cinema Express, and Filmfans Association for his on-screen performances and off-screen contributions in writing and producing. He has received awards in the Best Actor category for his performance in the films Sivaji, Chandramukhi, Padayappa, Peddarayudu, Baasha, Muthu, Annamalai, Thalapathy, Velaikaran, Sri Raghavendra, Nallavanuku Nallavan, Moondru Mugam, Enkeyo Ketta Kural, Aarilirunthu Arubathu Varai, Mullum Malarum and 16 Vayathinile. He received an award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Bhuvana Oru Kelvi Kuri. He has also received awards in Best Story Writer and Best Producer categories for Valli.
He has also received other honours such as Raj Kapoor Award in 2007 from the Government of Maharashtra, and the high-honoured civilan award, Padma Bhushan, in 2000 from Government of India. In September 2007, Rajinikanth won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor for his role in the film Chandramukhi. Recently, he was selected as the Indian Entertainer of the Year for 2007 by NDTV, competing against the likes of Shah Rukh Khan and Shilpa Shett