Rajinikanth
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Rajinikanth (Tamil: ரஜினிகாந்த்; born 12 December 1950 as Shivaji Rao Gaekwad) is an Indian film actor, media personality, and cultural icon. He made his debut as an actor in the National Film Award-winning motion picture Apoorva Raagangal (1975), directed by K. Balachander, whom the actor considers his mentor.
After a brief phase of portraying antagonistic characters in Tamil films, he gradually rose to become an established film actor. Within a few years of his career, he was claimed to be the superstar of Tamil cinema and has since continued to hold a matinee idol status in thepopular culture of India.[2] His mannerisms and stylized delivery of dialogue in films contribute to his mass popularity and appeal.[2] While working in other regional film industries of India, he also appeared in the cinemas of other nations, including in that of the United States. After being paid 
26 crore (US$5.9 million) for his role in Sivaji (2007), he became the highest paid actor in Asia after Jackie Chan.[3][4] Other than acting, Rajinikanth also worked as a producer and screenwriter. Apart from his film career, he is also aphilanthropist, spiritualist and serves as an influence in Dravidian politics.
26 crore (US$5.9 million) for his role in Sivaji (2007), he became the highest paid actor in Asia after Jackie Chan.[3][4] Other than acting, Rajinikanth also worked as a producer and screenwriter. Apart from his film career, he is also aphilanthropist, spiritualist and serves as an influence in Dravidian politics.He was bestowed the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour, in the year 2000 for his contribution to Indian cinema.[2] He was named one of the most influential persons in South Asia by Asiaweek.[2][5] He was also named by Forbes India as the most influential Indian of the year 2010.[6]
Rajinikanth was born as Shivaji Rao Gaekwad (Marathi: शिवाजीराव गायकवाड) in a Maharashtrian family,[7] to mother Rambhai and father Ramoji Rao Gaekwad, on December 12, 1950 in Bangalore, Karnataka, India.[1] He was the youngest of four siblings and has two brothers and a sister. After the death of his mother at his age of 5,[8] he struggled with an impoverished lifestyle during his childhood. During that time, he often did odd jobs as a coolie in his community. He attended the Acharya Patasala for elementary education and had his higher education at the Ramakrishna Mission in Bangalore.[9]Early life
Between 1966 and 1973 he worked in many places in Chennai and Bangalore. He performed various jobs before joining the thenBangalore Transport Service (BTS) as a bus conductor in Bangalore.[9][10] He began to take part in stage plays after Kannada playwright and director Topi Muniappa offered him a chance to act in mythological moral plays, out of which the most notable role performed by him was that of the villainous Duryodhana.[11] In 1973, his friend and co-worker Raj Bahadur motivated him to join the Madras Film Instituteand also financially supported him for two years during his studies.[12][13] His performance in a stage play eventually caught the eye of film director K. Balachander.[11] The director advised him to learn to speak Tamil, a recommendation that Rajinikanth quickly followed and which proved to be extremely useful in his career.[14]
Career
Early work: 1975-1977
In 1975, Rajinikanth began his career in Tamil cinema through Apoorva Raagangal. Starring Kamal Haasan, the film was directed by K. Balachander, who gave Rajinikanth a relatively small role as an abusive husband of Srividya.[15] The film went on to win the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil at the following year's ceremony.[16] His second film, a Kannada film, Katha Sangama, was directed by Puttanna Kanagal and released in 1976. His next film Anthuleni Katha, a Telugu film directed by K. Balachander was a remake of his own Tamil film Aval Oru Thodar Kathai (1974), had Rajinikanth playing a more pivotal role. In the following years, he continued to perform a variety of negative roles: a sadistic husband of Sujatha in Avargal,[17] a womaniser in Moondru Mudichu,[18] and a lust-filled village rowdy in P. Bharathiraja's 16 Vayadhinile.[19][20] In 1977, he accepted his first-ever lead role in the Telugu filmChilakamma Cheppindi. At the meantime, he also starred in Kannada and Telugu films. Though Rajinikanth always refers to K. Balachander as his mentor,[21][22] it was S. P. Muthuraman who revamped his image. Muthuraman first experimented with him in a positive role in Bhuvana Oru Kelvikkuri (1977), as a failed lover in the first half of the film and a protagonist in the second half. The duo went on to work in 25 films till the 1990s.[23]
Breakthrough: 1978-1990
The 1978 film Bairavi was the first Tamil film to cast him as a main hero. Later, Mullum Malarum won him critical acclaim.[24] The success of Bhuvana Oru Kelvikkuri prompted Muthuraman to make a mushy melodrama with Rajinikanth as a hero sacrificing everything for his siblings in Aarilirunthu Arubathu Varai (1979). Following this, he made his Malayalam film-debut through Allauddinum Albhutha Vilakkum. In the same year, he acted in Dharma Yuddam, in which he played a mentally ill person taking revenge for his parents' death. He also shared the screen with N. T. Rama Rao in his 50th film Tiger. Some of the popular films that also released during this period are the youthful entertainer Ninaithale Inikkum, Priya, and the Telugu film Amma Evarikkaina Amma.[23][25]
By the end of 1970s, he became a popular actor in the South Indian cinema. During this phase of his career, Rajinikanth abruptly chose to quit acting, but was coaxed back.[26] He made a comeback with the Tamil film Billa, which was a remake of the Bollywood film Don(1978). It had Rajinikanth playing dual roles and eventually became his first ever commercial success.[27] His pairing with Sridevicontinued in Johnny where he was once again cast in a double role. In 1981, he appeared in Garjanai which was shot simultaneuosly inKannada and Malayalam, making it his last film in those two languages till date. He also starred in Murattu Kaalai. In K. Balachander’s first home production, Netrikan, he performed dual roles as a womanising father and a responsible son.[28] He acted in Thillu Mulludirected by K. Balachander, which was Rajinikanth's first full-length comedy. He agreed to it solely due to the strong suggestion by his mentor that he should do non-commercial roles, to break the stereotyped action-hero mould by which he was getting famous at the time.[29]. In 1982, he starred in Pokkiri Raja and Thanikattu Raja. Moondru Mugam had Rajinikanth playing three roles for the first time.
In 1983, he starred in his first Bollywood film, Andha Kanoon, alongside Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini. The film went on to become one of the highest grossing films of that time.[30] His 1984 film, Naan Mahaan Alla, was directed by Muthuraman and produced by K. Balachander. He acted in his first cameo role in the film Anbulla Rajinikanth.[31] He played a triple role in John Jani Janardhan. His performance in Nallavanuku Nallavan earned him a Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award. In his 100th movie, Sri Raghavendra (1985), he played the Hindu saint Raghavendra Swami.[32]
Rajinikanth films that include Naan Sigappu Manithan (1985), Padikkathavan (1985), Mr. Bharath (1986), Velaikaran (1987), andDharmathin Thalaivan (1988). In 1988, he made his only English film appearance in Bloodstone, directed by Dwight Little.[33] Rajinikanth finished the decade with films including Rajadhi Raja, Siva, Mappillai and Athisaya Piravi, while also starring in a few Bollywood productions. His film Raja Chinna Roja was the first Indian film to use animated characters with actors.[34]
Commercial stardom: 1991-2001
During this decade, Rajinikanth established himself as a commercial entertainer. Almost all the films released during this period were highly successful at the box office. His stint with Bollywood continued since the past decade as he went on to star in more Hindi films.Hum released in 1991 saw him doing the second main lead with Amitabh Bachchan became an inspiration for Badsha.[35][36] In 1991, he worked with Mani Ratnam in Thalapathi, which was heavily inspired from the Hindu epic, Mahabharata.[37] Also starring Mammooty, the film dealt with the friendship between two characters based on Karna and Duryodhana, respectively, and was set in a more contemporary milieu and was both critically acclaimed and successful upon release.[32] He went on to appear in remakes of films from other languages, mostly from Hindi and Telugu. Annamalai, which released in 1992, was yet another friendship eccentric film and was loosely based on the 1987 Bollywood film Khudgarz. Mannan, directed by P. Vasu, also became a box-office success. Rajinikanth wrote his first screenplay for the film Valli (1993), in which he also made a special appearance. His romantic-comedy Veera (1993) was controversial for its climax but went on to become one of the highest grossing films in 1994.[38] He joined hands with Suresh Krishna forBadsha (1995), which emerged as an industry record[39] and is routinely touted by fans and critics alike as a major-hit, as the film elevated him from being just another very popular actor to nearly a demigod status among the masses.[40] He made a cameo inPeddarayudu for his friend Mohan Babu and also helped him in obtaining the remake rights. The same year, he acted in yet another gangster film, Aatank Hi Aatank with Aamir Khan which was also his last Hindi film in a major role till date.[35] His film Muthu was another commercial success, directed by K. S. Ravikumar and produced by K. Balachander, and became the first Tamil film to be dubbed into Japanese, as Mutu: Odoru Maharaja.[41][42] The film grossed a record $1.6 million in Japan in 1998 and was responsible for creating a large Japanese fan-base for Rajinikanth, which was unique among international film stars outside of the United States.[43]Muthu's success in Japan led American news magazine Newsweek to comment in a 1999 article that Rajinikanth had "supplantedLeonardo DiCaprio as Japan's trendiest heartthrob".[44] He also entered Bengali cinema through Bhagya Debata, which released at the end of 1995.
He performed dual roles in Arunachalam which was released in 1997. He shared his income from the film with eight other people from the film industry as profit shares.[45] It was also during this time that he started taking active participation in politics as his films began to take on a whole new dimension in terms of expectations, hype and revenue. His political clout also steadily rose with the cinematic tide, a trend which actually began with the release of Annamalai in 1992 and arguably climaxed during the time of Padayappa's release in 1999. Being his 150th film, Padayappa, directed by Ravikumar, turned out to be the largest blockbuster in his career at that time.[46]The following two years, he was less active and only committed to making a guest appearance in the Bollywood film Bulandi(2000).[35][47]
Sabbatical after Baba: 2002
After a brief gap, Rajinikanth starred in Baba in 2002, for which he had also written the screenplay.[48] Released with much fanfare and hype at the time, the film featured a story revolving around the reforming of a gangster, who is revealed to be the reincarnation of the Hindu saint Mahavatar Babaji, and fights against political corruption. It fell short of market expectations and the high bids reportedly translated to heavy losses for the distributors. Rajinikanth himself repaid the losses incurred by the distributors.[49][50] The film was received with comments such as "the bloom was off the rose" and that "the gold does not glitter anymore".[51] Pattali Makkal Katchileader S. Ramadoss condemned him for smoking and posing with beedis in the film. He was criticised for spoiling Tamil youth by glorifying smoking and drinking. PMK volunteers attacked theatres which screened the movie Baba and usurped film rolls and burnt it.[52]
Amidst controversies and negative criticism, Rajinikanth kept himself away from acting. Despite this, a few novice directors approached him with scripts, all of which he rejected.[53]
Resurgence and acclaim: 2005-present
Rajinikanth signed up for P. Vasu's Chandramukhi, a horror-comedy film featuring an ensemble cast. In stark contrast to his previous venture, the film eventually broke the record of being the longest running Tamil film as of 2007.[54] It was also dubbed in German and released in all German-speaking nations, the first Tamil film to be done so.
Following Chandramukhi's release, it was reported that AVM Productions were set to produce a film directed by S. Shankar starring Rajinikanth—the largest collaboration yet for a Tamil film. The film was Sivaji and released in the summer of 2007, following two years of filming and production. It became the first Tamil film to be charted as one of the top-ten best films of United Kingdom and South Africa box-offices upon release.[55][56] Rajinikanth received a salary of 26 crores, approximately US $5.3 million at the time, for his role in the film, which made him become the second highest paid actor in all of Asia.[3][4][57] He worked with P. Vasu again for Kuselan, a remake of the Malayalam film Kadha Parayumbol, in which Rajinikanth played an extended cameo role as himself, a star in the Indian film industry, and as a best friend to the main character. According to Rajinikanth, the film somewhat narrated his early life. It, however, performed poorly at box offices for many reasons: it was criticized as poorly-directed and was falsely promoted as a Rajinikanth-starrer, which Rajinikanth himself countered on a few occasions, stating that his role was only a cameo. It led to many distributors incurring major losses.[58] Rajinikanth also stated that he would work with Pyramid Saimira again in order to compensate for Kuselan.[59]
26 crores, approximately US $5.3 million at the time, for his role in the film, which made him become the second highest paid actor in all of Asia.[3][4][57] He worked with P. Vasu again for Kuselan, a remake of the Malayalam film Kadha Parayumbol, in which Rajinikanth played an extended cameo role as himself, a star in the Indian film industry, and as a best friend to the main character. According to Rajinikanth, the film somewhat narrated his early life. It, however, performed poorly at box offices for many reasons: it was criticized as poorly-directed and was falsely promoted as a Rajinikanth-starrer, which Rajinikanth himself countered on a few occasions, stating that his role was only a cameo. It led to many distributors incurring major losses.[58] Rajinikanth also stated that he would work with Pyramid Saimira again in order to compensate for Kuselan.[59]Rajinikanth worked again with S. Shankar for the science fiction film, Enthiran.[60] The film was released worldwide in 2010 as the most expensive Indian film ever made, ultimately becoming the highest-grossing film in India of its time.[61][62][63][64] Rajinikanth was paid a remuneration of 45 crores for the film.[65][66] As of 2011, Rajinikanth is slated for appearance in Rana, a period film to be produced by his daughter and directed by Ravikumar, who will work with Rajinikanth for the third time.[67][68] During the production of Sivaji,Soundarya Rajinikanth announced her intention of producing Hara, an animation film starring an animated version of her father. As of 2011, the film is still under production.[69][70]
45 crores for the film.[65][66] As of 2011, Rajinikanth is slated for appearance in Rana, a period film to be produced by his daughter and directed by Ravikumar, who will work with Rajinikanth for the third time.[67][68] During the production of Sivaji,Soundarya Rajinikanth announced her intention of producing Hara, an animation film starring an animated version of her father. As of 2011, the film is still under production.[69][70]Popularity
Rajinikanth has been called the most popular South Indian film actor of his time.[71][72] Rajinikanth's popularity has been attributed to "his uniquely styled dialogues and idiosyncrasies in films, as well as his political statements and philanthropy".[73] Many also cite reasons for Rajinikanth's popularity as coming from his larger-than-life super-hero appearance in many films, supported by gravity-defying stunts and charismatic expressions, all while attempting to maintain modesty in real-life.[74] Almost every film of Rajinikanth has punchlines delivered by him in an imitable style, and these punchlines often have a message or even to warn the film's antagonists. These dialogues are usually fabricated to create new ones or even taken in a comical way, but do not fail to create a sense of entertainment among viewers.[75][76] It is suggested by the media that some popular actors who worked with Rajinikanth earlier in their careers, such as Gouthami Tadimalla and Nayanthara, were recognized because of their association with Rajinikanth, giving other aspiring actors the urge to work with him.[77] Some fellow actors, such as Cho Ramaswamy, have commentated that Rajinikanth has the potential to be successful in Indian politics due to his popularity and fan base alone.[78]
During a visit to Japan in 2006, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh acknowledged the success of Muthu in the country during a speech, justifying the positive relationship between the two nations.[79][80] Chandramukhi is notable for being the longest-running Tamil film in India, playing for a total of over 800 days. Sivaji was instrumental in making one of the largest releases for an Indian film in the world; the film entered the list of top ten films of the United Kingdom upon release. Chandramukhi and Sivaji were also released in South Africa, where they eventually became high box-office grossers.[81] In December 2010, it was reported that students of the post-graduate management program at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad would use Enthiran as a case study to analyse the business of cinema and its success story, as part of an elective course called Contemporary Film Industry: A Business Perspective. The course would also study Muthu.[82] Rajinikanth also faces international popularity through the World Wide Web. "Rajinikanth facts" or "Rajinikanth jokes" are satirical factoids about Rajinikanth. They are widely circulated in text messages and over the internet.[10] Many Rajinikanth jokes are said to be inspired by Chuck Norris facts. Rajinikanth jokes usually surface before the expected release of one of his movies.[83] These satirical jokes have also inspired an iPad application.[84][85][86] A clip from his 1990 Tamil film Athisaya Piravi, featuring himself and fellow actor Thavakalai, became a hugely popular viral video titled "Little Superstar" on YouTube in 2006.[87]
A survey conducted in 2008 by Loyola College in Chennai suggested that Rajinikanth's popularity was decreasing in Tamil Nadu. The survey saw actors M. G. Ramachandran and Sivaji Ganesan, as well as Vijay, topping the list with Rajinikanth closely following them, though he was still ahead of other actor-turned-politicians, such as Vijayakanth. However, Rajinikanth's low ranking in the survey was linked to Kuselan, which released at the time of the survey with an unsuccessful outcome at box offices.[88]
Personal life
Family
Rajinikanth along with his wife Latha
He married Latha Rangachari, an Iyengar, on February 26, 1981, at the age of 31 in Tirupati,Andhra Pradesh.[89] They have two daughters named Aishwarya Rajinikanth and Soundarya Rajinikanth. His wife, Latha Rajinikanth, currently runs a school named The Ashram. His elder daughter, Aishwarya, married actor Dhanush on November 18, 2004 and they have two sons named Yathra and Linga.[90] His younger daughter, Soundarya, works in the film industry as adirector, producer and graphic designer. She married industrialist Ashwin Ramkumar on September 3, 2010.[91]
Religious views
Rajinikanth is a follower of Hinduism, spiritualism, and a strong believer of spirituality.[92] As a reader, he also enjoys books on such topics.[93] He is also a practitoner of yoga and meditation.[8] Rajinikanth is known for visiting temples prior to the release of each of his films; for instance he visited the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple before the release of Sivaji in 2007 and visited Sathya Sai Baba at Prasanthi Nilayam in Andhra Pradesh before the release of Kuselanthe following year.[94][95] He also occasionally leaves for pilgrimage to the Himalayas.[8] He has often referred to Swami Satchidananda, Ragavendra Swami, Mahavatar Babaji, and Ramana Maharishi as his favourite spiritual leaders.[23]
Influence in politics
In 1995, Rajinikanth began supporting the Indian National Congress after meeting Prime Minister Narasimha Rao. An opinion poll conducted by the magazine Kumudam predicted that Congress with Rajinikanth's support might win up to 130 seats in Tamil NaduAssembly. In 1996, when the Congress Party decided to align with All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), Rajinikanth supported Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) alliance. The TMC used a bicycle as their election symbol and used an image of Rajinikanth riding a bicycle from the film Annamalai in their posters. Rajinikanth said, "Even God cannot save Tamil Nadu if AIADMK returns to power." Rajinikanth wholeheartedly supported the DMK and TMC alliance and asked the people of Tamil Nadu and his fans to vote for that alliance. This alliance had a complete victory in 1996. In 1996, Rajinikanth supported the DMK-TMC alliance in parliamentary elections.[96]
In 2002, Rajinikanth undertook a daylong fast to protest the Government of Karnataka's decision to not release Kaveri River water into Tamil Nadu[97] and announced that he would contribute 10 million toward a plan to interlink the Indian rivers. He met with Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and many experts to canvass support for the project.[98] However, most other members of the Tamil film industry, including members of the South Indian Film Artistes' Association (SIFAA), organized their own solidarity protest. Film directorBharathi Raja stated that Rajinikanth was on the verge of dividing the film industry and called him "traitor who had a tacit understanding with the Karnataka government".[99]
10 million toward a plan to interlink the Indian rivers. He met with Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and many experts to canvass support for the project.[98] However, most other members of the Tamil film industry, including members of the South Indian Film Artistes' Association (SIFAA), organized their own solidarity protest. Film directorBharathi Raja stated that Rajinikanth was on the verge of dividing the film industry and called him "traitor who had a tacit understanding with the Karnataka government".[99]During the 2008 hunger strike organized by SIFAA during the Hogenakkal water dispute, he reprimanded politicians in Karnataka. Further, he appealed to leaders not to inflame the water project issue for political gains and requested that the issue should be resolved soon. He urged the Karnataka politicians "to speak the truth". "They cannot be fooled and will not remain silent if you continue to act in such manner," he stated.[100] Vatal Nagaraj, a Kannada activist and leader of the Kannada Chaluvali Paksha, demanded an apology from Rajinikanth and threatened that he would not be allowed in the state of Karnataka and all his films would be boycotted for Rajinikanth's speech against Kannada politicians.[101] Following the release of Kuselan in Karnataka, Rajinikanth publicly thanked theKannada film industry for allowing the release of the film and lifting the ban, which was imposed following his speech at the hunger strike. Actors Sathyaraj, Radha Ravi, and R. Sarathkumar condemned the apology as a "disgrace to Tamils".[102]
Local fan associations of Rajinikanth in Tamil Nadu continuously speculated his entry in politics. In this regard, a few fans in Coimbatorebegan a political party in 2008 for Rajinikanth, in an attempt to pressure his entry. The party was named the Desiya Dravadar Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (DDMMK), introducing its own flag and symbol for the party.[103] After learning about this, Rajinikanth wrote an open letter to the media and declared that he had no connection with these events and warned fans not to indulge in such activities and that he would take legal action if they failed to adhere. He also mentioned that he was not interested in politics and thus, was only committed to working in films. He added that nobody can force him to enter politics, just as no one can stop him from entering it.[104]
In 2008, Rajinikanth also took part in the SIFAA-organized one-day hunger strike with other Tamil film personalities, demanding the government of Sri Lanka to stop the civil war and to provide Sri Lankan Tamils their rights and traditional land in the island nation.[105]The hunger strike was responsible for sparking a series of protests in different parts of the the world for the same cause. In 2010, Rajinikanth supported actor Ajith Kumar, who spoke against the forceful inclusion of Tamil cinema personae in political affairs, which broke into a controversy.[106]
Awards and honours
Rajinikanth received his first Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Actor in 1984 for Nallavanuku Nallavan.[107] He later received Filmfare Award nominations for his performances in Muthu (1995) and Sivaji (2007). Rajinikanth also received Tamil Nadu State Film Awards in the Best Actor category for his roles in Moondru Mugam (1982), Muthu (1995), Padayappa (1999), Chandramukhi (2005), and Sivaji (2007). He also received awards from Cinema Express and Filmfans' Association for his on-screen performances and off-screen contributions in writing and producing.
Rajinikanth received the Kalaimamani award in 1984 and the M. G. R. Award in 1989, both from the Government of Tamil Nadu. In 1995, the South Indian Film Artistes' Association presented him with the Kalaichelvam Award. He was named and honored with the Padma Bhushan award, India's third highest civilian honour, in 2000 from the Government of India.[108] He was selected as the Indian Entertainer of the Year for 2007 by NDTV, competing against the likes of Shahrukh Khan.[109][110] The Government of Maharashtra honoured him with the Raj Kapoor Award the same year. He received the Chevalier Sivaji Ganesan Award for Excellence in Indian Cinema at the 2010 ceremony of the Vijay Awards.[111]
Rajinikanth was awarded the Entertainer of the Decade Award by
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