Rajinikanth

Rajinikanth
Born	Shivaji Rao Gaekwad December 12, 1950 (1950-12-12) (age 57)[1] Karnataka, India
Other name(s)	Rajni, Super Star, Thalaivar
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1975-2002, 2005-present
Spouse(s)	Latha Rajinikanth
Official website
Awards won Filmfare Awards Best Actor Nallavanuku Nallavan (1984) Other awards Kalaimamani (1984) Padmabhushan (2000) Tamil Nadu State Best Actor (1995) Tamil Nadu State Best Actor (1999) Tamil Nadu State Best Actor (2005) Reliance Mobile Favourite Hero (2008) NDTV Entertainer of the Year (2007)

Rajinikanth (Kannada: ರಜನೀಕಾಂತ್; Marathi: रजनीकांत; Tamil: ரஜினிகாந்த்) (born Shivaji Rao Gaekwad, December 12, 1950^[1]) is one of the most influential and bankable movie stars in the Tamil film industry. Rajnikanth's mass popularity and appeal is largely drawn from his mannerisms and stylized delivery of dialogue. He received India's third highest honour, the Padma Bhushan, for his contribution to Indian cinema in 2000.^[2] He was reportedly paid Rs. 26 crores (about USD 6.25 Million) for his latest blockbuster Sivaji^[3], making him the highest paid actor in Asia after Jackie Chan.^[4]

Contents 1 Early life 2 Acting career 2.1 Debut and Rise: 1975-1979 2.2 Gaining Popularity: 1980-1989 2.3 The Superstar Decade: 1990-1999 2.4 Indulging in Politics: 2002 2.5 Making Milestones: 2005-Present 2.6 Upcoming Films 3 Awards and Honours 4 Notable Filmography 5 Political Influences 6 Criticism 7 Philanthropic Activities 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

Early life

Rajinikanth was born in a Maratha family in Karnataka, India. He was the fourth child of his parents, Jijabai and Ramojirao Gaekwad.^[1] He was named Shivajirao Gaekwad. Gaekwad is a family name among the Marathas. He lost his mother at the age of five. His residence was located at Hanumantha Nagar in Bangalore. He did his schooling at the Acharya Paathshala in Bangalore (N.R.Colony) and then at the Vivekananda Balaka Sangha. Rajinikanth struggled a lot during his early age because of poverty. Although his mother-tongue is Marathi,^[5][6] he has not acted in any Marathi movies yet.

He began his career doing various jobs in Bangalore. He also attended a theatre for stage plays. Before starting his career in the film industry, He used to practice the Stunt at Hanumantha Guda (Rama Hanuman Temple) at the Hill near to his House, he worked as a bus conductor for the Bangalore Transport Service in Bangalore.^[7] It was during this time that he nurtured his acting interests by performing in various stage plays.^[7]

He married Latha on February 26, 1981, at the age of 31 in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh and they have two children: Aishwarya and Soundarya Rajinikanth. Latha currently runs a school named The Ashram.

His elder daughter Aishwariya married actor Dhanush on November 18, 2004 and they have one son, Yathra.^[8] His second daughter, Soundarya Rajinikanth, works as a film director, producer and graphic designer for feature films.

Acting career

He joined the Madras Film institute in 1973 with the help of his friend Raj Bahadur, a fellow Bus driver and completed a basic course in acting. In the film institute he was helped by his fellow student Chiranjeevi and the Vice Principal A.Prabhakaran.^{[9] [10]}

Rajinikanth has acted in a total 173 movies, which includes Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, English and Bengali films. Rajinikanth made a foray into Bollywood with Andha Kanoon but did not make as much of an impact as he had in the south. He still appeared a few films in Hindi, such as Chaalbaaz with Sridevi, Uttar Dakshin, Geraftaar and Hum. His appearance in Hollywood was with the movie Bloodstone in 1988.

He also made brief stints in German- and Japanese film industries. His film Muthu was dubbed into Japanese and later turned out to become a major hit in the country, ultimately creating a huge Japanese fan-following for Rajni. In 2005, his film Chandramukhi was dubbed in German and released in all German-speaking nations.

Debut and Rise: 1975-1979

Rajinikanth's first film was in Tamil cinema, where he was initially cast in supporting roles, debuting as a cancer patient in Apoorva Raagangal in 1975.^[11] The film was directed by K. Balachander, who is constantly referred to by Rajinikanth as his own guru or mentor. 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 "guru" or mentor, it was director S. P. Muthuraman who actually revamped Rajinikanth’s image entirely. Muthuraman first experimented with him in a positive role in Bhuvana Oru Kelvikkuri (1977), as a villain in the first half and a do-gooder in the second, accepting a woman with a child abandoned by her lover. Around this time Mullum Malarum (1978), directed by J. Mahendran, established Rajinikanth in the Tamil film arena. 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 — he changed from an actor who merely enthralled the audiences, to one who could also make them cry. The acceptance of Rajinikanth sans his 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, frequently with Kamal Haasan as the hero, in movies like 16 Vayadhinilae, Moondru Mudichu and Avargal.

Gaining Popularity: 1980-1989

During this phase of his career when he was reaching dazzling heights, Rajinikanth abruptly chose to quit acting, but was coaxed back.^[12] He started again with Billa, . With its phenomenal success he was accepted as a full-fledged hero. Billa was followed by a row of hits like Murattukaalai,Pokkiri Raja, Thanikattu Raja, Naan Mahaan Alla, Pudukavithai^{[13] [14]} and Moondru Mugam. K. Balachander’s first home production, Netrikan proved to be yet another milestone in Rajini’s career. . He even acted as himself alongside Meena, 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, .^[15] In his 100th movie, Sri Raghavendra, he played the Hindu saint Raghavendra Swami.

The Superstar Decade: 1990-1999

The vast majority of his movies released during the nineties were extremely successful, notably Thalapathy, Mannan, Annamalai, Uzhaippali, Veera, Baasha, Muthu,^[16], Arunachalam and Padayappa. Rajinikanth wrote his first screenplay for the film Valli (1993). His cult classic Baasha, released in 1995, went on to become a massive blockbuster and is routinely touted by his fans and critics alike as the movie which elevated him from being just another very popular actor with loads of charisma to an almost demigod status in the eyes of the masses. His film Muthu was the first Tamil film to be dubbed into Japanese as Muthu: The Dancing Maharajah and became very popular in Japan.^[17][18] Throughout this decade, Rajinikanth established himself as an unparalleled box office phenomenon; all of the films mentioned in this era were all formulaic mass entertainers which routinely created box office records. It can be argued that it was also during this time that Rajinikanth and the political world began to converge, whether that confluence was voluntary or not is debatable, but the objective fact cannot be disputed that 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 as well. This trend began with the release of Annamalai in 1992 and arguably climaxed during the time of Padayappa's release in 1999.

Indulging in Politics: 2002

The new millennium began very well for Rajinikanth; his last film Padayappa came out in 1999 and had rewritten box office records and all things seemed perfect. Finally, after more than a three year sabbatical from cinema, at 52 years of age, he starred in his home production, Baba, which released on August 15, 2002 amidst much fanfare and extreme hype. The film failed miserably to meet the expectations due to a very weak screenplay, which Rajinikanth himself had written, his second stint at screenplay writing after Valli. The thin screenplay revolved around spirituality and when compared to his previous film, Padayappa, it was a colossal disappointment. Although the film grossed enough to cover its budget, it was viewed as a tremendous loss when compared to his previous box office successes throughout his career. It fell short of market expectations and the high bids reportedly translated to heavy losses for the distributors. It is fact that Rajinikanth himself repaid the losses incurred by the distributors who possessed immense faith in him.^[19][20] Rajinikanth reported that he was going to retire from acting, later taking part in political activities.

Making Milestones: 2005-Present

After the Baba debacle, Rajinikanth mulled over numerous scripts with many directors, including K.S. Ravikumar, and finally chose to act in director P. Vasu's Tamil remake of Manichithrathazhu, Chandramukhi. Many people within the industry had written Rajinikanth off after the Baba fiasco, essentially saying 'the bloom was off the rose" and that "the gold does not glitter anymore".^[21] In essence, many viewed Chandramukhi as Rajinikanth's comeback film, his make or break movie and in the end, when it was released on April 14, 2005, it went on to create new box office records and smashed his own previous records and once and for all removed any doubt within the industry with regards to Rajinikanth's box office clout and incomparable appeal to the masses.^[22] Just after Chandramukhi's release, it was reported that AVM Productions were to produce a film directed by S. Shankar starring Rajinikanth, the largest collaboration yet for a Tamil film. The film was titled Sivaji and released on June 15, 2007 after two years of filming and meticulous production. With massive international anticipation, it subsequently went on to become a major blockbuster, being ranked among other major Bollywood and Hollywood releases of the year. Sivaji became the first Tamil movie to be ranked as one of the top-ten best films of United Kingdom and South Africa box-offices upon release.

Following Sivaji, Rajinikanth worked with P. Vasu again for Kuselan, a remake of the Malayalam film Kadha Parayumbol, in which Rajinikanth was given only a cameo role. He acted as himself, a superstar in the Indian film industry, and as a best friend to the main character, which was played by Pasupathy. Kuselan's release was large like all other films of Rajini, including promotional items in the United States and India such as M&M's Kuselan chocolates and Kuselan trading cards provided in Sunfeast Biscuit packages. Despite the mass hype prior to release and it's success, the film opened to below average reviews and critics later touted the film to have a weak storyline and screenplay. The film was also criticized for highlighting Rajinikanth as the hero of the film when the real protagonist of the film was Pasupathy. Critics claimed that Kuselan was a film that taught everyone a lesson of filmmaking. Some distributors resulted in major losses due to the film, creating Kuselan's box office results similar to Baba. ^[23]

Upcoming Films

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 (based on his likeness) and 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 April 2009 release. Rajinikanth has also been signed to work with the Sivaji team of S. Shankar and A. R. Rahman once again for another magnum opus, an alleged science fiction thriller tentatively entitled Endhiran. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan will finally play opposite Rajinikanth as heroine for the first time; the film is touted to be the biggest and costliest film venture yet in India. It is being produced by Ayngaran International and Eros Labs and slated for theatrical release sometime in 2010.

Rumours also go across that A. R. Murugadoss may direct Rajinikanth in his next feature film after Ghajini.^[24] It is also said that Rajinikanth has shown interest in being casted in Pyramid Saimira's next production, in order to compensate for the colossal flop of Kuselan.^[25]

Awards and Honours

Rajinikanth was named as one of the influential persons in South Asia by Asiaweek.^[26] He has won a Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award for the film Nallavanuku Nallavan in 1984.^[27] Rajinikanth, despite these awards, has not yet received a National Film Award.

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, Engeyo 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 Raj Kapoor Award in 2007 from the Government of Maharashtra, and the high-honoured civilan award, Padma Bhushan, in 2000^[2] from Government of India.

In September 2007, 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, beating out the likes of Shah Rukh Khan and Shilpa Shetty.

Notable Filmography

Main article: Rajinikanth filmography

Year	Title	Role(s)	Language	Notes
1975	Apoorva Raagangal	Abaswaram	Tamil
1976	Moondru Mudichu		Tamil
1977	16 Vayathinile	Parattai	Tamil
1978	Mullum Malarum	Kali	Tamil
1979	Ninaithale Inikkum		Tamil
1980	Billa	Billa, Raja	Tamil	Portrayed a dual role
	Johnny	Johnny	Tamil
	Murattu Kalai	Kalaiyan	Tamil
1981	Thee		Tamil
	Thillu Mullu	Indran, Chandran	Tamil	Portrayed a dual role
1982	Moondru Mugam	Alex Pandian, Arun, John	Tamil	Portrayed three roles
1984	Nallavanuku Nallavan		Tamil	Winner, Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award
1985	Sri Raghavendra	Raghavendra Swami	Tamil
1991	Thalapathi	Surya	Tamil
1992	Annamalai	Annamalai	Tamil
1995	Baasha	Manick Baasha	Tamil
	Muthu	Muthu, Ejamaan	Tamil	Winner, Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor Portrayed a dual role
1999	Padayappa	Aaru Padayappan	Tamil	Winner, Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor
2005	Chandramukhi	Dr. Saravanan, Vettaiyan	Tamil	Winner, Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor Portrayed a dual role
2007	Sivaji: The Boss	Sivaji Arumugam	Tamil
2009	Sultan: The Warrior		Tamil	Voice only Filming
2010	Endhiran		Tamil	Filming

Political Influences

In 1995 Rajinikanth announced that he is willing to support the Congress party after meeting Prime Minister Narasimha Rao.^[28] An opinion poll conducted by Kumudam magazine predicted that Congress with Rajinikanth support may win up to 130 seats in Tamil Nadu Assembly. In 1996, when the Congress Party decided to align with AIADMK, Rajinikanth supported DMK-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^[28]

In 1996 Rajinikanth supported the DMK-TMC alliance in parliamentary elections.^[29] The television channel Sun TV broadcasted Rajini's speech throughout the day of the election in 1998 in which he spoke about the allaince of DMK and TMC in 1996. AIADMK-BJP alliance won around 30 out of 39 seats riding on sympathy wave generated by Coimbatore bomb blasts.

In 2002 Rajinikanth undertook a day-long fast to protest Karnataka's decision to not to release Cauvery water to Tamilnadu.^[30] Announced that he would contribute 10 Million rupees towards interlinking of Indian rivers scheme.^[31] He met Prime Minister Vajpayee and many experts to canvass support for Interlinking Indian rivers scheme.

In 2004 Rajinikanth supported BJP-AIADMK alliance in Parliamentary elections and did not wholheartedly ask his fans and people to support that alliance.If he would have whole heartedly told the people and his fans to support BJP then defintely that year elections would have witneesed some changes in election results.^[28] and quoted PMK's violence and BJP's support to interlinking of Indian rivers^[32] as reason for his support. But the alliance failed to win any seats.

During the 2008 Hunger Strike organized by the Tamil film industry in support of the Hogenekkal drinking water project, he blasted Karnataka politicians over the water project. "I unequivocally condemn Karnataka for this reprehensible act of denying us what is rightfully ours. Those who are raising the issue are doing it for the elections. A national political party I respect is forcing me to wonder by its despicable acts whether there is (rule of law) in this country (guaranteed by) the Supreme Court and Who they will listen to." Without naming B.S. Yeddyurappa, Rajni said "It was a cheap act by a leader of a big national party and an election gimmick. I do not approve it. The party’s (BJP) Tamil Nadu unit is keeping quiet", he added. Further, he appealed to the leaders like M. Karunanidhi, H.D. Deve Gowda, H.D. Kumaraswamy, Yeddyurappa and Siddaramaiah and to not to flame up this issue for political gains. Rajinikanth requested the Tamil Nadu leaders including M. Karunanidhi that, this issue should be nipped in the bud. Rajini urged the Karnataka politicians to speak the 'Truth' and warned them that the people would teach them lesson if they continue to play with the issue for political gains. "People are equal to God. They cannot be fooled and will not remain silent if you continue to act in such manner", thundered the Superstar.^[33] Leader of the Pro-Kannada group Karnataka Rakshana Vedike Vatal Nagaraj demanded an apology from Rajinikanth and threatened that he will not be allowed in the state of Karnataka and all his films will be boycotted for Rajinikanth's speech against Kannada politicians.^[34]

Criticism

In 2002, during Rajinikanth's own hunger strike for agitating the state of Karnataka to release Cauvery river water into Tamil Nadu, another hunger strike was organized by other Tamil film actors and directors. Rajinikanth had yet continued with his own strike. This had led to serious criticism of Rajinikanth. Director Bharathi Raja, who also condemned other actors and politicians of Tamil Nadu, had stated that Rajinikanth was on the verge of dividing the film industry.^[35]

Also in 2002, Pattali Makkal Katchi leader S. Ramadoss condemned him for smoking and posing with beedi's in his film Baba. 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.^[36] Famous film producers like M. Saravanan accused that cigarette smoking and drinking are shown in all movies and Rajini's film was chosen by the PMK leader because of his popularity in Vanniar areas which is considered PMK bastion.^{[citation needed]} To stop the controversies, Rajini announced that in his future films, he won't act in scenes involving him smoking or drinking. In keeping with his words, he did not include a single scene of smoking or drinking in his thereafter.

Following the release of Kuselan in Karnataka on August 1, 2008, Rajinikanth thanked the Kannada film industry for allowing the release of his latest film and lifting the ban. He tendered a public apology to all Kannadigas for the controversial statement. He also gave an open statement clarifying his stand to the people of Karnataka state and regretted for not being clear in his speech during the Hogenakkal Water Project hunger strike. Some people in Tamil Nadu depicted this statement to be an apology and spread rumours among the people of Tamil Nadu causing a few other Tamil film personalities, such as Sarath Kumar, Sathyaraj, T. Rajendar and Radha Ravi to criticize Rajinikanth's stand on Hogenakkal issue and his loyalty to Tamilians.^[37][38]

A survey in Tamil Nadu in 2008 showed that Rajinikanth had lost overall popularity compared to recent years. He was beaten by Joseph Vijay, who according to the survey was Tamil Nadu's most favourite film star.^[39] The result may have shown up due to Rajinikanth's recent political standings and the disappointment created by Kuselan.

Philanthropic Activities

Rajinikanth is also widely known for his philanthropic activities.^[17]

He converted one of his banquet halls, the Raghavendra Marriage Hall, to a charitable trust to help the needy.^[40] He shared his income from the film Arunachalam with eight other people from the film industry as profit shares.^[41]He is planning to construct a new hospital and a new school on a piece of land near Chennai.^[42]He has distributed Rs 12 Lakhs as relief to the family members of the bereaved in the bomb blast in Coimbatore.^[43] He also donated 1 crore rupees to the 2004 Tsunami Relief Fund by the state of Tamil Nadu, in January 2005 to the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, J. Jayalalitha, in person.

Dance choreographer, director and actor Lawrence Raghavendra, who is also a philanthropist in Chennai, has reportedly merged with Rajinikanth, who agreed to completely pay the food expenses of Lawrence's disability home. While talking to the media on this, Lawrence said, “I am very thankful to Rajini sir. We all know about his generosity and benevolence but he has reiterated this by agreeing to foot the expenses of food bills of the centre irrespective of its strength."

See also

• Rajinikanth filmography
• Sultan: The Warrior

References

External links

• Rajinikanth at the Internet Movie Database

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