RAJINIKANTH – NEED WE SAY ANYMORE?

It’s the story of this one man army and the phenomenon they call Mr Rajinikath!! He needs no introduction in India – South, North, East, West – they have all been covered and fans reside in every corner of this country. Be it his acting, the dialogue delivery – they call it ‘Rajni style’, the things only Rajni can do – travel faster than light or unravel Vitoria’s secrets ;), the ever so unique sense of fashion or the jhatkas and the matkas that even put our very own Munni and Sheila to shame, the man aka ‘The God in Human Form’ is quite special in more ways than one.

The story of the brand called Rajinikanthh is unique and heart warming. It’s a classic example of the famous rags to riches story. If you were a frequent traveller on route 10A of the Bangalore local bus transport many years ago, chances are that Rajnikath may have sold you your bus ticket. A modest beginning and in his own impeccable style all he says is this - “Yesterday I was a conductor, today I’m a star, tomorrow what I’ll be only He knows!”.

A Rajni movie releasing is an event that’s marked in peoples calendars. Every social and business appointment stands cancelled on the release date because if you are a true fan of the big boss, you got to be there First day first show. The release of Shivaji- the boss, showed me what it actually means to be a fan. Problems with the release in Bangalore didn’t stop the fans from travelling to the remotest parts of Tamil Nadu just so that they were sure they would manage a ticket!! I came across 2 such people in office and it took me a while to digest how one man could generate such a loyal and enthusiastic fan following!

There are over a 1000 of the evergreen Rajni jokes on the internet and you could read them over and over again and never stop laughing! They are a tribute to the man and the great things ONLY he can do. Politics, social work, controversies – he has been part of it all – taking Tamil Nadu politics to newer heights and lightning up a few lives by the gift of giving, such superstars are indeed rare.
So here’s to the man who stood by it all – good times and bad, hits and some rare flops, awards and controversies, and is undoubtedly one of the biggest ever stars of his time!

Some Facts:

1. Although known as Rajnikath, he was born Shivaji Rai Gaekwad on Dec 12th, 1949. He was named Rajnikanth by his mentor and well known director K. Balachandar.
2. He has acted in a total of 171 movies, the last being Ethiran in 2010.
3. For his role in Shivaji, he was paid a whopping 26 crore rupees and is the highest paid Asian actor after Jackie Chan.
4. Ethiran in 2010, paid Rajnikath a 45 crore rupees.
5. Receipient of the Padma Bhushan award in 2000.
6. His first movies
   
   1. Tamil : Aboorva Raagangal(1975).
   2. Kannada : Katha Sangama (1976)
   3. Malayalam : Allauddinum Albhutha Vilakkum (1979).
   4. Bollywood : Andha Kanoon(1983).
   5. Bengali : Baghya Devatha(1980's).
   6. English : Bloodstone(1988).
      
7. The film Chandramukhi ran for a total of 800 days, the longest ever for any Tamil film in India.
8. The only movie in which Rajni sang a song for was Mannan in 1992.
9. 12 of his movies are remakes of Amitabh Bachan movies.
10. In 2008, a few of his fans started their own political party for the man himself and called it the Desiya Dravadar Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (DDMMK).
11. In 2007, he was named NDTV Indian Entertainer of the year and was honoured with the Raj Kapoor Award.
12. His film Muthu was dubbed into Japanese and Chandramukhi was dubbbed in German.
13. The Tamil superstar ironically did not know to speak Tamil, until he was advised to learn the language by director K. Balachandar.
14. Rajni's long time friend and driver of the 10A route KSRTC bus played a small role in his film Valli.
15. Bairavi(1978) was the first Tamil film to cast him as a solo hero.

Classic Stunts: