RAJINI KANTH:
Rajinikanth was born as Shivaji Rao Gaekwad into a Marathi family in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. He was the fourth child of his parents, Jijabai and Ramojirao Gaekwad, a police constable.He lost his mother at the age of five. He attended elementary school at the Acharya Paathshala in Basavanagudi, Bangalore and then at the Vivekananda Balaka Sangha. Rajinikanth struggled a lot during his early age because of his family's low income. Although his mother-tongue is Marathi, he has not yet acted in any Marathi films.
He worked with various jobs in Bangalore and also attended a theatre for stage plays. Before starting his career in the film industry, he used to practice stunts at the Rama Hanuman Temple at a hill near his house. He then primarily worked as a bus conductor for the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation in Bangalore. His charisma and style were noted by the passengers who travelled with him and gave him suggestions in becoming an actor. It was during this time that he nurtured his acting interests by performing in various stage plays.
Acting career:
Rajinikanth joined the Madras Film Institute in 1974. As of 2002, he has acted in over 150 films, which includes Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, English and Bengali language films. Rajinikanth made his debut in Bollywood with Andha Kanoon but the film went on to become a poor grosser. He still appeared in several Hindi films, such as Chaalbaaz, Uttar Dakshan, Giraftaar and Hum. He starred in the 1988 American film Bloodstone, which released with much fanfare in India, however, unsuccessful in the United States. He also made brief stints in the Japanese and German language film industries. His 1995 film Muthu was dubbed into Japanese while his 2005 film Chandramukhi was dubbed in German and released in all German-speaking nations.
Supporting roles: 1975-1977:
Rajinikanth's first film was in Tamil cinema, where he was initially casted in supporting roles, debuting as a cancer patient in Apoorva Raagangal in 1975.The film was directed by K. Balachander, who is constantly referred to by Rajinikanth as his own "guru" or mentor.[citation needed] The following year, Rajinikanth acted in his first Kannada film, Katha Sangama, directed by Puttanna Kanagal. Though Rajinikanth refers to director K. Balachander as his mentor, it was director S. P. Muthuraman who actually revamped Rajinikanth’s image entirely.[citation needed] Muthuraman first experimented with him in a positive role in Bhuvana Oru Kelvikkuri (1977), as a villain in the first half of the film and a protagonist in the second. Around this time Mullum Malarum (1978), directed by J. Mahendran, established Rajinikanth in the Tamil film arena as a film hero. 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). These films were the turning points in Rajinikanth’s career;[citation needed] he changed from an actor who merely enthralled the audiences to one who could also evoke emotions. The acceptance of Rajinikanth sans his stylized mannerisms proved he had at last become a "star" from a "common actor." His film roles were mainly as a villain during the period 1975 to 1977, co-starring frequently with Kamal Haasan as the protagonist, in movies like 16 Vayadhinilae, Moondru Mudichu and Avargal. In 1978, Rajinikanth acted in the film Bairavi.
Lead roles: 1978-1989:
During this phase of his career, Rajinikanth abruptly chose to quit acting, but was coaxed back.He continued acting with the blockbuster Tamil film Billa, which was a remake of the blockbuster bollywood movie Don. With its phenomenal success he was accepted as a full-fledged hero. Billa was followed by a row of hits, namely Murattu Kaalai, Pokkiri Raja, Thanikattu Raja, Naan Mahaan Alla, Pudukavithaiand Moondru Mugam. K. Balachander’s first home production, Netrikan proved to be yet another milestone in Rajni’s career. He acted in his first cameo role alongside Meena Durairaj, who was a child actor then, in the movie Anbulla Rajinikanth (1984). More box-office hits dominated the 80's with Padikkathavan, Thee, Velaikaran, Dharmathin Thalaivan, Mr. Bharath, and Maaveeran.[13] In his 100th movie, Sri Raghavendra, he played the Hindu saint Raghavendra Swami.
Career peak: 1989-1999:
The movies released during the nineties included Thalapathy, Mannan, Annamalai, Uzhaippali, Veera, Baasha, Muthu, Arunachalam and Padayappa. Rajinikanth wrote his first screenplay and acted as a special appearance in the film Valli (1993). His film Baasha was released in 1995. His film Muthu was the first Tamil film to be dubbed into Japanese as Muthu: The Dancing Maharajah and became very popular in Japan.[15][16] Padayappa's release in 1999. Padayappa was directed by K. S. Ravikumar.
Baba: 2002:
After more than a three year sabbatical from cinema, at 52 years of age, he starred in his home production, Baba which released on 15 August 2002. The screenplay revolved around the story about a gangster who later engages in spirituality. It fell short of market expectations and the high bids reportedly translated to heavy losses for the distributors which Rajinikanth repaid.
2005-2007:
Rajinikanth chose to act in director P. Vasu's Tamil remake of Manichithrathazhu,Kannada Aapthamithra, Chandramukhi. Chandramukhi was released on 14 April 2005, and went on to create new box office records such as being the longest running Tamil film, as of 2007.Just after Chandramukhi's release, it was reported that AVM Productions were to produce a film directed by S. Shankar starring Rajinikanth. The film was titled Sivaji: The Boss and released on 15 June 2007 went on to become ranked among other major Bollywood and Hollywood releases of the year. Sivaji charted as one of the top-ten best films of United Kingdom and South Africa box-offices upon release.
Kuselan controversy: 2008:
Following Sivaji, Rajinikanth worked with P. Vasu again for Kuselan, a remake of the Malayalam film Kadha Parayumbol, in which Rajinikanth played a cameo role as himself, a star in the Indian film industry, and as a best friend to the main character. Some distributors incurred major losses due to the film, for which Rajinikanth voluntarily settled with his own budget.
Endhiran and future projects:
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 in 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 release in 2009. Rajinikanth has also been signed to work with the Sivaji team of S. Shankar and A. R. Rahman for another movie, tentatively entitled Endhiran. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan will play opposite Rajinikanth as heroine for the first time.
A. R. Murugadoss had previously shown interest in directing Rajinikanth in his next feature film after Ghajini.Rajinikanth has stated that he is interested in starring in Pyramid Saimira's next production, in order to compensate for 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 Nallavanuku Nallavan in 1984 and Muthu in 1994 respectively.
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 the Raj Kapoor Award in 2007 from the Government of Maharashtra. He was named and honoured with the Padma Bhushan award, India's third highest civilian honour, in 2000 from the Government of India. In September 2005, 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 Shahrukh Khan
