Born on December 12, 1950, Shivaji Rao Gaikwad, better known by his stage name Superstar Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor who mostly performs in Tamil films. He has acted in 169 films throughout the course of a career spanning more than 50 years, including ones in the languages of Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, and Malayalam. He is recognised by many as one of the most prosperous and well-liked performers in Indian film history. Recognised for his distinct delivery of dialogue and eccentricities in films, he possesses an enormous global fan base in addition to a devoted following. The Indian government bestowed upon him the Padma Bhushan in 2000, the Padma Vibhushan in 2016, the third and second highest civilian awards in India, and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the top accolade in the film industry, in 2019.
Early life
Ramoji Rao Gaekwad was a police policeman, and his mother was a stay-at-home mum. His forefathers were from Pune, Maharashtra, namely Mavadi Kadepathar. In a household with two older brothers (Satyanarayana Rao and Nageshwara Rao) and a sister (Aswath Balubhai), he is the youngest of four siblings. The family constructed a home in the Bangalore neighbourhood of Hanumantha Nagar upon his father's 1956 retirement from the workforce. At nine years old, his mother passed away. The Gavipuram Government Kannada Model elementary School in Bangalore served as Rajinikanth's elementary school. He was "studious and mischievous" as a boy, and he loved basketball, football, and cricket.
His brother enrolled him at the Ramakrishna Math, a Hindu monastery founded by the Ramakrishna Mission, during this period. He was taught history, tradition, and the Vedas in maths class, which gradually gave him a spiritual sense. He started taking acting classes at the maths in addition to spiritual training. At the school, his passion for drama flourished, and he once had the chance to play the part of Ekalavya's companion from the Hindu epic Mahabharata. The Kannada poet D. R. Bendre praised his performance in the play. Rajinikanth attended the Acharya Pathasala Public School following his sixth grade year and finished his pre-university education there.
Career As A Actor
K. Balachander's 1975 Tamil film Apoorva Raagangal marked Rajinikanth's cinematic debut. He was given a little part as Srividya's ex-husband, the main female character. When it was first released, the film, which examined relationships between individuals of different ages, was met with controversy.
He won praise from critics for his significant positive roles as a rejected lover in S. P. Muthuraman's Bhuvana Oru Kelvi Kuri (1977), Mullum Malarum (1978), and Aval Appadithan (1978). The former won him a Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize for Best Actor. He had worked in every South Indian film industry by the end of the decade and had made a name for himself in Tamil cinema. The action movie Billa (1980), which was a remake of the Hindi classic Don (1978), featured him in two roles thereafter. It garnered him stardom and was his greatest commercial triumph to that date.
His performance in Moondru Mugam (1982) as a triple part actor won him a special distinction at the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards. He debuted in Bollywood the next year with T. Rama Rao's highest-grossing film, Andhaa Kaanoon (1983).He was the recipient of the 1984 Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Actor, which went to Nallavanukku Nallavan. He acted in a number of popular Tamil and Hindi films in the second half of the 1980s, such as Geraftaar (1985), Bewafai (1985), Padikkadavan (1985), Mr. Bharath (1986), Velaikaran (1987), Manithan (1987), Dharmathin Thalaivan (1988), ChaalBaaz (1989), Hum (1991), and Phool Bane Angaray (1991).
Personal life
Rajinikanth was employed in Bangalore as a bus operator when he got to know Nirmala, a medical student, and they began dating. She pushed him to pursue acting after watching him in a theatre play and, unbeknownst to him, applied to the Adyar Film Institute on his behalf. Rajinikanth accepted the offer and went on with his acting career, but he hasn't spoken to her since.
Rajinikanth wed Latha Rangachari, an Ethiraj College for Women student who conducted an interview with him for her collegiate publication. In Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, on February 26, 1981, a marriage took place. Two daughters, Aishwarya and Soundarya, belong to the marriage. His daughters gave him four grandkids.