Legendary Actor Rajinikanth & His Real Life ‘Movie Like’ Path to Success

By Swati Chandra Jul 10 2021 5:21PM
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Rajinikanth is a well known Indian actor and is better known as “God of Indian Cinema.” The actor has worked in 100+ movies, has won Padma Bhushan & Padma Vibhushan, and many other awards. Interestingly, he started his career as a coolie.

Veteran Actor Rajinikanth - The Never-Ending God of South Indian Cinema

Rajinikanth is an Indian actor who has worked in various languages (primarily Tamil Cinema) and a well-known personality in India. Rajini is known as the God of cinema and, from acting to drama, knows everything. He is the recipient of various awards at the state and national levels. Apart from his acting skills, he is also known for his kind heart, humbleness, and simplicity. Rajini has worked in more than a hundred films and, he is a very punctual man who always reaches on time for all his shootings.

Rajinikanth - Statistics

  • Full Name – Shivaji Rao Gaekwad
  • Known As - Rajinikanth
  • Date of Birth - 12 December 1950 (70 years)
  • Place of Birth - Bangalore, Karnataka, India
  • Profession - Actor, Producer
  • Marital Status - Married
  • Spouse – Latha Rajinikanth

Rajinikanth - Early Life

Rajini was born in a Marathi family and, he got named after the great Maratha King Shivaji. His father, Ramoji Rao Gaekwad, was a police constable and, his mother was a homemaker. Unfortunately, he lost his mother at a very young age and, it was a difficult phase for the family. Rajini completed his education from Gavipuram Govt. Kannada Model Primary School, Bangalore. He was a studious kid and had an interest in basketball, football, and cricket. He also enrolled in the Ramakrishna Math, where he learned Vedas, history, spirituality, and tradition.

Rajinikanth - Family and Personal Life

Rajinikanth is the youngest in his family, with three siblings consisting of one sister and two brothers. Rajini took several jobs to support his family’s financial condition. First, Rajini worked as a coolie and took the bus conductor job in the Bangalore Transport Service. Then, Rajini took up an acting course at Madras Film Institute, going against his family. He met K. Balachander (Tamil film director) at the institute and, he recommended him to learn the Tamil language.

He married Latha Rangachari in 1981 and, the couple has two children. The famous Tamil actor, Dhanush, is his son-in-law.

Rajinikanth - Film Career

  • Early Career - Rajini debuted from a Tamil film Apoorva Raagangal in a small role as the husband of the female lead in 1975. The film went on to receive three National Film Awards at the 23rd National Film Awards. He then worked in films like Puttnna Kanagal, Anthuleni Katha, etc. His first film in a prominent role was Moondru Mudichu which made him famous for his flipping cigarettes style.
  • Breakthrough - Rajinikanth did several movies from 1975 to 1978. Most of them got liked by both audience and the critics. But one film that gave him the status of a superstar was Maathu Tappada Maga. The film got directed by M. Bhaskar and, the movie was a box office hit. Rajini’s next movie, Ilamai Oonjal Aadukirathu, was a blockbuster and was directed by C.V. Sridhar. It was a quadrupled love story and, he got starred opposite Kamal Hasan. After that, Rajini went on doing several films, and after that, there was no looking back for him. He worked in films like Vanakkatukuriya Kathaliye, Mullum Malarum, Allauddinum Albhutha Vilakkum, etc. Rajini received various nominations and awards for his acting and magnificent roles.
  • Stardom - By the end of 1990, Rajini established himself as one of the greatest South Indian actors. Almost all of his films performed well on the box office and, he was officially a commercial entertainer. His movies like Panakkaran, Thalapathi, Anuraga Aralithu were all blockbuster movies. His films Veera, Baashha, released in 1994-1995, were the highest-grossing films. His movies got released in other countries such as Japan, the USA, etc., and they received success in those languages.

Rajinikanth - Political Career

Rajini is a supporter of the DMK and TMC alliance. The alliance won with complete victory in 1996. Later in 2004, Rajinikanth personally showed his inclination for Bharatiya Janta Party. But he didn’t show any support during the Indian general elections. As a result, the party lost miserably and failed to secure even a single seat in the Lok Sabha.

Rajini announced his intention to contest in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly elections in 2021. He also promised to fulfil all the citizen’s needs and said that if his party fails to perform those promises within three years, his party will resign.

Rajinikanth - Social Work and Philanthropy

Rajinikanth did an entire day fasting to protest the decision of Karnataka’s government not to release Kaveri river water into the state. He also announced to contribute INR 10 million to interlink Indian rivers.

According to one of Rajinikanth’s biography, most of his philanthropic works haven’t published. He campaigned for corneal transplantation, an anti-corruption movement by Anna Hazare. He also provided a free-of-cost venue for sanitary workers to clean the 2015 South India floods. His fans association organizes free blood and eye donation camps and distributes free food on his birthday.

Rajinikanth - Awards and Achievements

Some of the Awards won by Rajinikanth are as follows:

  • Civilian Award
    • Padma Bhushan - 2000
    • Padma Vibhushan - 2016
  • State Government Award
    • Kalaimamani Award - Tamil Nadu State Govt. Award, 1984
    • Shivaji Award - Tamil Nadu State Govt. Award, 2011
    • Raj Kapoor Award - Maharashtra Govt. Award, 2011
  • Film Awards
    • Centenary Award for Indian Film Personality of the Year - International Films Festival of India, 2014
    • Icon of Golden Jubilee of IFFI Award - International Films Festival of India, 2019
    • National Award - Nandi Award, 2016
    • Dada Saheb Phalke Award - Directorate of Film Festivals, 2021
    • Indian Entertainer of the Year - NDTV, 2007
    • Entertainer of the Decade - NDTV, 2011
    • Best Actor Tamil - Filmfare Awards South, 1984
    • Chevalier Sivaji Ganesan Award for Excellence in Indian Cinema - Vijay Awards, 2010
    • Tamil Nadu State Film Honorary Award - MGR Award, 1989

Rajinikanth - Fans and Following

Rajinikanth has millions of fans all across the globe. He is a superstar and, people in South India worship him like a god. Rajini tries to interact with his fans as much as possible. He is also on some of the social media platforms but isn’t active on any of those. Rajini has more than 700 thousand fans on his official account on Instagram. You can also follow the various fan pages of Rajinikanth on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Rajinikanth - The Filmy Action King

Rajinikanth is a legendary actor and, his contribution to the film industry is incomparable. He was famous for ding his action and stunts himself, without the help of anybody double. Rajini is an inspiration for all of us and especially for all those budding actors who want to achieve something big in the film industry. His transformation from a superstar to a bus conductor is very influential and, it teaches us to dream so big that it scares us. And then work hard to fulfill those dreams.