Rajinikanth

Rajinikanth
Rajinikanth in 2010
Born	Shivaji Rao Gaekwad 12 December 1949 (1949-12-12) (age 61) Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Residence	Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Occupation	Film actor, producer, screenwriter
Years active	1975–present
Spouse	Latha Rangachari (1981–present)
Children	Aishwarya Rajinikanth (born 1982) Soundarya Rajinikanth (born 1983)

Rajinikanth (Tamil: ரஜினிகாந்த்; born Shivaji Rao Gaekwad on December 12, 1949)^[1] is an Indian film actor, media personality, and cultural icon. He made his debut as an actor in Apoorva Raagangal (1975), a Tamil film directed by K. Balachander, whom the actor considers his mentor. He then continued to work in Tamil cinema, often portraying antagonistic characters and gradually rose to acting in lead roles. Other than acting, Rajinikanth also worked as a producer and screenwriter. Apart from his film career, he is also a philanthropist, spiritualist and serves as an influence in the politics of Tamil Nadu.
Rajinikanth is a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour, for his contribution to Indian cinema. Post-1978, he became known as the "superstar" of Tamil cinema and has held a matinee idol status in the popular culture of India.^[1] His mannerisms and stylized delivery of dialogue in films attribute to his mass popularity and appeal.^[1] He was named one of the most influential persons in South Asia by Asiaweek.^[1][2] While acting in many Indian languages, he has also appeared in the cinemas of other nations, including the United States. After being paid 26 crores (US$5.9 million) for his role in Sivaji (2007), he became the highest paid actor in Asia after Jackie Chan.^[3][4]

Contents [hide] 1 Early life 2 Career 2.1 Early career: 1975-1977 2.2 Breakthrough: 1978-1990 2.3 Commercial successes: 1991-2002 2.4 Recent work: 2005-present 3 Popularity 4 Personal life 4.1 Family 4.2 Religion 4.3 Politics 5 Awards and honours 6 Notable filmography 7 Further reading 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Early life

Rajinikanth was born Shivaji Rao Gaekwad in a Maharashtrian family,^[5] to mother Jijabai and father Ramoji Rao Gaikwad, on December 12, 1949 in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. He was the youngest of four children and has two older brothers and a sister. After the death of his mother at the age of 5,^[6] he struggled with an impoverished lifestyle during his childhood. During that time, he often did odd jobs as a coolie in his community. He attended the Acharya Patasala for elementary education and had his higher education at the Ramakrishna Mission in Bangalore.
Between 1966 and 1973 he worked in many places in Chennai and Bangalore. He performed various jobs before joining the then Bangalore Transport Service (BTS) as a bus conductor in Bangalore. In 1973, his friend and co-worker Raj Bahadur motivated him to join the Madras Film Institute and also financially supported him for 2 years during his studies. ^[7][8] During this time he was noticed in a Kannada play at the Film Institute in Chennai by K. Balachander. The director advised him to learn to speak Tamil, a recommendation that Rajinikanth quickly followed and which proved to be extremely useful in his career.^[9]

[edit] Career

As of 2010, Rajinikanth has acted in over 190 films, including Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Hindi, English, and Bengali films.^{[citation needed]} After the release of his first Bollywood film, Andha Kanoon, Rajinikanth did not make as much of an impact in the Mumbai-based industry as he did in the south. He still appeared in several Hindi films, such as Chaalbaaz, Uttar Dakshin, Giraftaar and Hum. He appeared in a supporting role in the American film Bloodstone, co-produced by Ashok Amritraj in 1988, with much fanfare in India at the time of its release.^[10] He also made brief stints in the German and Japanese film industries. His film Muthu was dubbed into Japanese and became a major hit in Japan.^[11] In 2005, his film Chandramukhi was dubbed in German and released in all German-speaking nations. Despite his first language being Marathi, Rajinikanth has not yet acted in any Marathi films.

[edit] Early career: 1975-1977

Rajinikanth debuted in Tamil cinema as a cancer patient in Apoorva Raagangal in 1975. The following year he acted in his first Kannada film, Katha Sangama which was directed by Puttanna Kanagal. He entered Telugu cinema through Anthuleni Katha, which was directed by K. Balachander, whom Rajinikanth has called his "guru" or mentor. Though Rajinikanth refers to director K. Balachander as his mentor, it was director S. P. Muthuraman who revamped Rajinikanth’s image entirely. Muthuraman first experimented with him in a positive role in Bhuvana Oru Kelvikkuri (1977), as a failed lover in the first half of the film and a protagonist in the second. Muthuraman has since directed Rajinikanth in 25 films. His film roles included the movies Moondru Mudichu and Avargal.

[edit] Breakthrough: 1978-1990

In 1978, Rajinikanth acted in the film Bairavi. This was the first Tamil film to cast him as a solo hero. Later Mullum Malarum won him critical acclaim. 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).
During this phase of his career Rajinikanth abruptly chose to quit acting, but was coaxed back.^[12] He continued acting with the Tamil film Billa, which was a remake of the Bollywood movie Don. Billa was followed by a row of hits, namely Murattu Kaalai, Pokkiri Raja, Thanikattu Raja, Naan Mahaan Alla and 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).
Rajinikanth appeared in a steady stream of films throughout the 80s: Padikkathavan, Thee, Velaikaran, Dharmathin Thalaivan and Mr. Bharath.^[13][14] In his 100th movie, Sri Raghavendra, he played the Hindu saint Raghavendra Swami.

[edit] Commercial successes: 1991-2002

The majority of his movies released during the nineties were extremely successful, notably Thalapathy, Mannan, Annamalai, Veera, Badsha, Muthu,^[15] and Padayappa. Rajinikanth wrote his first screenplay and made a special appearance in the film Valli (1993). His film Badsha emerged as an industrial record. His film Muthu was the first Tamil film to be dubbed into Japanese (as Mutu: Odoru Maharaja^[16]) and grossed a record $1.6 million in Japan in 1998.^[17] In fact, its success in Japan led the American news magazine Newsweek to comment in a 1999 article that Rajinikanth had "supplanted Leonardo DiCaprio as Japan's trendiest heartthrob".^[18]
He starred in Baba (2002) for which he had also written the screenplay.^[19] The story revolved around 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. Rajinikanth himself repaid the losses incurred by the distributors.^[20][21] The film was received with comments such as "the bloom was off the rose" and that "the gold does not glitter anymore".^[22] Pattali Makkal Katchi leader S. Ramadoss condemned him for smoking and posing with beedis in the film. 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.^[23]

[edit] Recent work: 2005-present

Rajinikanth seen in the audio launch of his latest film, Enthiran (2010)

After rumours that Rajinikanth would next work with K. S. Ravikumar again, it was finally revealed that he was signed up for Chandramukhi, to be directed by P. Vasu. The film eventually broke the record of being the longest running Tamil film as of 2007.^[24] 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 production. It became the first Tamil movie to be charted as one of the top-ten best films of United Kingdom and South Africa box-offices upon release.^[25][26] Rajinikanth received a salary of 26 crores, approximately US $5.3 million at the time, for his role the film, which made him become the second highest paid actor in all of Asia.^[3][4] Rajinik P. Vasu again for Kuselan, a remake of the Malayalam film Kadha Parayumbol, in which Rajinikanth played an extended cameo role as himself, a star in the Indian film industry, and as a best friend to the main character. According to Rajinikanth, the film somewhat narrates his early life. The film performed poorly at box offices; many distributors incurred major losses due to the film, which Rajinikanth voluntarily settled with his own budget after pressure from different sections of the film world.^[27][28] Rajinikanth also stated that he would work with Pyramid Saimira again in order to compensate for Kuselan.^[29] Following the release of Kuselan in Karnataka Rajinikanth made a public statement, thanking the Kannada film industry for allowing the release of the film and lifting the ban, which was imposed following his speech at the South Indian Film Artistes' Association's hunger strike supporting the Hogenakkal Integrated Drinking Water Project, which many Kannada activists and politicians found offending. Actors Sathyaraj, Radha Ravi, and R. Sarathkumar condemned the apology as a "disgrace to Tamils."^[30]
During the production of Sivaji, Soundarya Rajinikanth announced her intention of producing an animation film starring an animated version of her father. As of 2011, the film is still under production. Rajinikanth worked again with Sivaji director Shankar for the science fiction film, Enthiran. The film was released worldwide in 2010 as the costliest Indian film ever made with a budget of 162 crores (US $36 million), ultimately becoming the highest-grossing film in India of its time.^{[31][32][33][34]} Rajinikanth was paid a remuneration of 45 crores for the film.^[35]
Rajinikanth's venture following Enthiran was revealed in January 2010 as Rana, a period film to be produced by his daughter and directed by K. S. Ravikumar.^[36]

[edit] Popularity

Rajinikanth at a function in Chennai (2009)

Rajinikanth has been called the most popular South Indian film actor of his time.^{[citation needed]} Rajinikanth's popularity has been attributed to "his uniquely styled dialogues and idiosyncrasies in films, as well as his political statements and philanthropy".^[37] It is also suggested by the media that some popular actors who worked with Rajinikanth earlier in their careers, such as Gouthami Tadimalla and Nayanthara, were recognized because of their association with Rajinikanth, giving other aspiring actors the urge to work with him.^[38] Some fellow actors, such as Cho Ramaswamy, have commentated that Rajinikanth has the potential to be successful in Indian politics due to his popularity and fan base alone.^[39]
During a visit to Japan in 2006, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh acknowledged the success of Muthu in the country during a speech, justifying the positive relationship between the two nations.^[40][41] Chandramukhi is notable for being the longest-running Tamil film in India, playing for a total of over 800 days. Sivaji was instrumental in making one of the largest releases for an Indian film in the world; the film entered the list of top ten films of the United Kingdom upon release. Chandramukhi and Sivaji were also released in South Africa, where they eventually became high box-office grossers.^[42]
A survey conducted in 2008 by Loyola College in Chennai suggested that Rajinikanth's popularity was decreasing in Tamil Nadu. The survey saw actors M. G. Ramachandran and Sivaji Ganesan, as well as Joseph Vijay, topping the list with Rajinikanth closely following them, though he was still ahead of other actor-turned-politicians, such as Vijayakanth. However, the low result was attributed to Kuselan, which released at the time of the survey with an unsuccessful outcome at box offices.^[43]
In October 2010, Grady Hendrix, a writer from the New York Asian Film Festival produced an article about Rajinikanth, describing his mass appeal in India.^[44] The article and its writer were featured on WNYC, a local American radio station based in New York City, New York, United States, in an 11-minute commentary on Rajinikanth.^[45]
Rajinikanth facts or Rajinikanth jokes are satirical factoids about Rajinikanth. They are widely circulated in text messages and over the internet. Many Rajinikanth jokes are said to be inspired by Chuck Norris facts.^[46] Rajinikanth jokes usually surface before the expected release of one of his movies. These satirical jokes have also inspired an iPad application.^[47][48]

[edit] Personal life

[edit] Family

He married Latha Rangachari, an Iyengar,^[49] whom he met during an exclusive interview,^[50] 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 Rajinikanth, married actor Dhanush on November 18, 2004 and they have two sons named Yathra and Linga.^[51] His younger daughter, Soundarya Rajinikanth, works in the film industry as a director, producer and graphic designer. She married industrialist Ashwin Ramkumar on September 3, 2010.^[52]

[edit] Religion

Rajinikanth is a follower of Hinduism, spiritualism, and a strong believer of spirituality.^[53] As a reader, he also enjoys books on such topics.^[54] He is also a practitoner of yoga and meditation.^[6] Rajinikanth is known for visiting temples prior to the release of each of his films; for instance he visited the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple before the release of Sivaji in 2007 and visited Sathya Sai Baba at Prasanthi Nilayam in Andhra Pradesh before the release of Kuselan the following year.^[55][56] He also occasionally leaves for pilgrimage to the Himalayas.^[6] He has often referred to Swami Satchidananda, Ragavendra Swami, Mahavatar Babaji, and Ramana Maharishi as his favourite spiritual leaders.^[57]

[edit] Politics

In 1995, Rajinikanth began supporting the Indian National Congress after meeting Prime Minister Narasimha Rao.^[58] An opinion poll conducted by the magazine Kumudam predicted that Congress with Rajinikanth's support might win up to 130 seats in Tamil Nadu Assembly. In 1996, when the Congress Party decided to align with All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), Rajinikanth supported Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-Tamil Maanila Congress (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.^[58] In 1996, Rajinikanth supported the DMK-TMC alliance in parliamentary elections.^[59]
In 2002, Rajinikanth undertook a daylong fast to protest the Government of Karnataka's decision to not release Kaveri River water into Tamil Nadu^[60] and announced that he would contribute 10,000,000 toward a plan to interlink the Indian rivers. He met with Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and many experts to canvass support for the project.^[61] However, most other members of the Tamil film industry, including members of the South Indian Film Artistes' Association (SIFAA), organized their own solidarity protest. Film director Bharathi Raja stated that Rajinikanth was on the verge of dividing the film industry and called him "traitor who had a tacit understanding with the Karnataka government".^[62]
During the 2008 hunger strike organized by SIFAA during the Hogenakkal water dispute, he reprimanded Karnataka politicians. Further, he appealed to leaders not to inflame the water project issue for political gains and requested that the issue should be resolved soon. He urged the Karnataka politicians "to speak the truth." "People are equal to God. They cannot be fooled and will not remain silent if you continue to act in such manner," he stated.^[63] Leader of the Pro-Kannada group Karnataka Rakshana Vedike Vatal Nagaraj demanded an apology from Rajinikanth and threatened that he would not be allowed in the state of Karnataka and all his films would be boycotted for Rajinikanth's speech against Kannada politicians.^[64]
Several local fan associations of Rajinikanth in Tamil Nadu have continuously wanted him to take active participation in politics. In this regard, a few fans in Coimbatore started their own political party in 2008 for Rajinikanth, in an attempt to pressure his entry in politics. The party was named the Desiya Dravadar Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (DDMMK), introducing its own flag and symbol for the party.^[65] After learning about this, Rajinikanth wrote an open letter to the media and declared that he had no connection with these events and warned fans not to indulge in such activities and that he would take legal action if they failed to adhere. He also mentioned that he was not interested in politics and thus, was only committed to working in films. He added that nobody can force him to enter politics, just as no one can stop him from entering it.^[66]
Rajinikanth joined in support of Tamil actor Ajith Kumar, who spoke against the forceful inclusion of Tamil cinema personae in political affairs.^[67] He attended an event organised in support of the Sri Lankan Tamil cause with the Tamil film fraternity in late 2008, taking part in a one-day fast demanding the government of Sri Lanka to stop the war, the murder of innocent civilians and to give Tamils their rights and their traditional land, stating this was in the best interests for the people of the island.^[68]

[edit] Awards and honours

Rajinikanth received his first Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Actor in 1984 for Nallavanuku Nallavan. He later received Filmfare Award nominations for his performances in Muthu (1995) and Sivaji (2007).^[69] Rajinikanth also received Tamil Nadu State Film Awards in the Best Actor category for his roles in Moondru Mugam (1982), Muthu (1995), Padayappa (1999), Chandramukhi (2005), and Sivaji (2007). He also received awards from Cinema Express and Filmfans Association for his on-screen performances and off-screen contributions in writing and producing.^[70]
Rajinikanth received the Kalaimamani award in 1985 and the M. G. R. Award in 1989, both from the Government of Tamil Nadu. In 1995, the South Indian Film Artistes' Association presented him with the Kalaichelvam Award. He was named and honoured with the Padma Bhushan award, India's third highest civilian honour, in 2000 from the Government of India.^[71] He was selected as the Indian Entertainer of the Year for 2007 by NDTV, competing against the likes of Shahrukh Khan.^[72] The Government of Maharashtra honoured him with the Raj Kapoor Award the same year. He received the Chevalier Sivaji Ganesan Award for Excellence in Indian Cinema at the 2010 ceremony of the Vijay Awards.^[73]

[edit] Notable filmography

Main article: Rajinikanth filmography

Year	Film	Role	Language	Notes
1975	Apoorva Raagangal	Abaswaram	Tamil
1976	Anthuleni Katha	Murthy	Telugu
	Moondru Mudichu	Prasad	Tamil
1977	16 Vayathinile	Parattai	Tamil
	Bhuvana Oru Kelvikkuri	Aravind	Tamil
1978	Mullum Malarum	Kaali	Tamil	Winner: Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor
1979	Ninaithale Inikkum	Deepak	Tamil
	Aarilirunthu Arubathu Varai	Santhanam	Tamil
1980	Billa	Billa, Raja	Tamil
	Murattu Kaalai	Kaalaiyan	Tamil
1981	Thillu Mullu	Indran/ Chandran	Tamil
1982	Moondru Mugam	Alex Pandian, Arun, John	Tamil	Winner: Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor
1984	Nallavanuku Nallavan	Manickam	Tamil	Winner: Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award
1985	Sri Raghavendra	Raghavendra Swami	Tamil
1991	Thalapathi	Surya	Tamil
1992	Annamalai	Annamalai	Tamil
1995	Badsha	Manickam/ Manick Badsha	Tamil
1996	Muthu	Muthu, Ejamaan	Tamil	Winner: Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor Nominated: Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award
1997	Arunachalam	Arunachalam	Tamil
1999	Padayappa	Aarupadayappan	Tamil	Winner: Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor
2005	Chandramukhi	Dr. Saravanan, King Vettaiyan	Tamil	Winner: Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor
2007	Sivaji	Sivaji Arumugam	Tamil	Winner: Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor Nominated: Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award
2010	Enthiran	Dr. Vaseegaran, Chitti Babu	Tamil		2011	Rana	Tamil