Rajnikanth the superstar of South India will be celebrating his 61st birthday today.
Rajinikanth was born on 12 December 1950 in Bangalore, Karnataka, as Shivaji Rao Gaekwad in a Maharashtrian family,to mother Jijabai an father Ramoji Rao Gaekwad. He was the youngest of four siblings and has two brothers and a sister.
Rajnikanth studied at the Acharya Paathshala and Vivekananda Balaka Sangha in Bangalore. His love for acting was evident even then as he used to participate in stage plays and practice stunts at the Rama Hanuman Temple. In 1973,
he joined the Madras Film Institute with a colleague to study acting and was mentored by A.Prabhakaran, his vice principal.
He is married to Latha Rangachari, an Iyengar, on February 26, 1981, at the age of 31 in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. 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. His younger daughter, Soundarya, works in the film industry as a director, producer and graphic designer. She married industrialist Ashwin Ramkumar on September 3, 2010.
Rajinikanth's first movie was K.Balachandera's 'Apoorva Ragangal' in 1975 with Kamal Hassan. 'Katha Sangama' was his first Kannada movie directed by Puttanna Kanagal in 1976. In 1977, he acted in a Kamal Hassan-Sridevi starrer 1'6 Vyathinile' that was appreciated and others like 'Avargal', a Telugu movie 'Aame Katha' and the Kannada movie 'Galate Samsara'.
He was mostly cast in negative roles until 'Bhuvan Oru Kelvi Kuri'. In 1978, among several other movies, he stood out in Mullum Malarum' that won several awards. In 1979, he appeared in movies like 'Ninaithale Inikkum', 'Naan Vazhavaippen' and 'Aarilirunthu Arubathu Varai'.
His career gained a n impetus in the eighties. 'Billa', a remake of bollywood hit 'Don', was a hit. This was followed by more success with 'Murattu Kalai' (1980) 'Pokiri Raja' (1982) and 'Mundru Mugam' (1982). He made his debut in Bollywood with 'Andha Kanoon' (1983).
His role in 'Anbulla' Rajnikanth' (1984) and 'Nallavanuku Nallavan' (1984) were applauded. The latter fetched him his first Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award. He acted in his 100th movie- 'Sri Raghavendra' in 1985. He continued to act in a mix of Hindi and Tamil movies with releases like 'Dosti Dushman' (1986), 'Viduthalai' (1986), 'Velaikaran' (1987), 'Tamacha' (1978) and 'Kodi Parakuthu' (1978). He acted in an English movie Blood Stone as a street smart taxi driver. 'Chaalbaaz' in 1989 in which he acted with Sridevi and Sunny Deol was a hit. In 1991, he was part of 'Hum' with Amitabh Bacchan and worked with Mammootty in 'Thalapathi'.
He wrote the screenplay and acted in the movie 'Veera' (1994). His movie 'Muthu' (1995) won him a Tamil Nadu Film Award for Best actor. The movie also has the distinction of being dubbed into Japanese and enjoying popularity in Japan.
The 1999 release 'Padayappa' was his 150th movie and generated a lot of fanfare and became a hit of a huge magnitude. He won the Tamil Nadu Film Award for Best actor. He won the award again for 'Chandramukhi' in 2005.
Sivaji: the Boss (2007) was in a league of it's own. This movie turned out to be one the biggest box office blockbusters.
Rajinikanth received his first Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Actor in 1984 for 'Nallavanuku Nallavan'. He later received Filmfare Award nominations for his performances. He also received awards from Cinema Express and Filmfans' Association for his on-screen performances and off-screen contributions in writing and producing.
He was named and honored with the Padma Bhushan award, India's third highest civilian honour, in 2000 from the Government of India. He was selected as the Indian Entertainer of the Year for 2007 by NDTV.
Rajinikanth worked again with S. Shankar for the science fiction film, 'Enthiran' . In this film former Miss World and bollywood beauty Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was casted opposte him. 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. Rajinikanth was paid a remuneration of 45 crores for the film. 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.
Rajinikanth has been called the most popular South Indian film actor of his time. Rajinikanth's popularity has been attributed to "his unique style of dialogue delivery". Many state that the main reasons for Rajinikanth's popularity comes 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..
Rajnikanth is a true rags to riches story. His histrionics onscreen have raised his status to that of a cult hero. His presence creates an excitement close to hysteria among his fans.
FridayMoviez wishes Rajinikanth a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!