Mumbai: Megastar Rajinikanth turns a year older today. Let’s take a look into his inspiring journey from being a bus conductor to becoming one of the most popular actors in cinema.
Rajinikanth’s life has not been easy as he had to face several financial crises right from his childhood as his mother passed away when he was only five years old. Following his mother’s demise, the responsibility of the family fell on him. To make both ends meet, he even worked as a coolie.
Rajinikanth’s real name is Shivaji Rao Gaekwad which later became Rajinikanth. Rajinikanth also used to work as a bus conductor before becoming a superstar.
Rajinikanth made his debut in Tamil film industry with Balachander’s film Apoorva Raagangal. The film also featured Kamal Haasan and Srividya. Rajinikanth made his acting debut in Kannada plays. Rajinikanth became popular from house to house for the role of Duryodhana.
Rajinikanth first appeared as a hero in SP Muthuraman’s film Bhuvana Oru Kelvikkuri after playing many negative characters. The success of the film brought the duo together for 24 more films till the 1990s.
Rajinikanth did three distinct roles as Alex Pandian, Arun and John in Moondru Mugam. T Rama Rao’s film Andha Kanoon was Rajinikanth’s first Hindi film alongside Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini. The film went on to become one of the highest-grossing films of that time.
Rajinikanth is not only a South Indian superstar, he ranks third among Asia’s highest-paid actors. Rajinikanth is the most expensive actor in India. According to reports, Rajinikanth charged Rs 40 to 60 crores for the film Kabali. Rajinikanth also charged around 80 crores for the film 2.0 released last year.
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