Know about Superstar Rajnikanth of Tollywood

Rajinikanth, the Superstar of Tollywood, Born on 12 December 1950 in Bangalore, Karnataka. How many of you know that he is a Marathi? But born and brought up in Tamil Nadu. His original name is Shivajirao Gaikwad.

Superstar Rajnikanth

This king of Tollywood, as he played a different role in his films he also played different roles in his real-life from a carpenter to a coolie and from a bus conductor to a Superstar of Tollywood.

While working as a bus conductor in BTS (Bangalore Transport Service) he began to take part in Kannada stage plays. One day God opened his door and the great director K. Balachander saw 25 years old Shivajirao’s Play and advised him to learn to speak Tamil and it worked for our hero.

Then K. Balachander offered him the role of co-star in the movie Apoorva Raagangal and the film went on to win the National Film Award for the Best Feature Film in Tamil. He started his career in 1975 from a negative role and continued to perform a variety of negative roles in Avargal, Moondru Mudichu and 16 Vayadhinile. But again in 1977, he revamped his image in a positive role in S.P. Muthuraman’s  Bhuvana Oru Kelvikkuri. And in the same year, he made his debut as a lead role in Telugu film in Chilakamma Cheppindi. Bairavi (1978) was the first Tamil film to cast him as the main hero.

By the end of the 1980’s he became a popular actor in the South Indian Cinema. In 1981, he appeared for the last time in Kannada and Malayalam movie in Garjanai, which was shot simultaneously in Kannada and Malayalam.

By the strong suggestion of his mentor (K. Balachander), he accepted non-commercial roles, to break the stereotyped action-hero mould and in 1982 he acted in Pokkiri Raja and Thanikattu Raja. In 1983, he acted in his first Bollywood film Andha Kanoon with Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini.

Rajinikanth received his first Film fare Award for Best Tamil Actor in 1984 for Nallavanuku Nallavan. He also received Tamil Nadu State Film Awards for Best Actor in Muthu (1995), Padayappa (1999), Chandramukhi (2005) and Shivaji (2007). Government of Tamil Nadu awarded him the Kalaimamani (1984) and the M.G.R. Award in 1989. In 2000 he was honoured with Padma Bhushan award from the Government of India. Government of Maharashtra awarded him the Raj Kapoor Award in 2007.

He got married to Latha Rangachari on 26^th February 1981, in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. The couples have two daughters named Aishwarya Rajinikanth and Soundarya Rajinikanth.  Aishwarya got married to actor Dhanush on 18^th November 2004 and Soundarya got married to industrialist Ashwin Ram Kumar on 3^rd September 2010, and work in the film industry as a director, producer and graphic designer.

Rajinikanth was the first person to donate every month for food expenses of the Larencce Charitable Trust. In fact he gives 50% of his income in charity without publicizing it. 

Written By:- Asna Hasan.