It’s that time of the year again, when Rajinikanth fans throng the streets and flood social networking sites with photos, messages and wishes for their favourite Superstar as he turns a year older today. We have put together fun facts about the star
Here's wishing the superstar the very best for his birthday and grand success for his film 'Lingaa' that hits theatres today!
Of late, there are numerous rumours that suggest the star will be exploring other avenues by entering politics.
Several authors have tried to trace Rajini’s rags-to-riches story, but none of the biographies have been authorized by the actor. Notable amongst them are 'The name is Rajinikanth' by Gayathri Sreekanth and 'Rajinikanth: The Definitive Biography' by
Rajini has a special pooja room in his Poes garden residence, which has been done up according to Vastu rules. Rajini meditates and prays only in this room and entry into the room is restricted even to his family members.
If his friend Bahadur is to be believed, during his Himalaya visits, Rajini has had encounters with saints who have been living there for over 2,000 years.
Rajinikanth, who is very spiritual, makes it a point to visit one of the pilgrimage centres either before or post the release of all his films. He occasionally also visits the Himalaya.
Internet memes and jokes about Rajinikanth started to make its rounds after the release of his high budget film 'Enthiran', and have made him more popular than ever.
Rajini has become a phenomenon and he is now included in the syllabus in schools and colleges. His blockbuster film 'Enthiran' was introduced as a case study to analyse the business of cinema and its success, as part of an elective course called
Rajini is not called a simple man for no reason. Though he is the highest paid actor in Asia only next to Jackie Chan, he still takes pleasure in the simplest of things. He makes no demands for luxuries, and instead prefers to sleep on the floors of
The couple has two daughters -- Aishwarya (born in 1982) and Soundarya (born in 1984). Aishwarya is a classical dancer and a playback singer. She married actor Dhanush in 2004 and also produced the film '3', starring Dhanush and Shruthi Haasan.
Rajinikanth married Latha Rangachari, an English literature graduate, who hails from an elite Iyengar family, in 1981. He first met Latha when she interviewed him along with a group of college friends. The actor was immediately taken in by her
Rajinikanth is known never to forget his friends. He helped his driver friend Bahadur, who was instrumental in shaping his career, by roping him to play a cameo role in his film 'Valli'. Bahadur was paid Rs 2 lakhs for his role and the money still
His film 'Muthu' was dubbed in Japanese and released as 'Muthu Odoru Maharaja'. It completed a 185-day run and collected 200 million yen. The video of the song 'Thillana Thillana' became very popular and was selected as the most popular foreign
After a winning ever kind of award there was to win, Rajini set his sight on the big prize; going international. Rajini worked in a lone Hollywood film titled 'Bloodstone', directed by Dwight Little and produced by Ashok Amritraj. He played the role
His biggest commercial success at the time came in the form of 'Billa', a remake of the blockbuster Hindi film, 'Don'. The film marked the comeback for Rajini, who had chosen to abruptly end his acting career. The film has become a cult classic and
He became popular with children, with films like 'Annai Oru Alayam', 'Anbulla Rajinikanth' and 'Raja Chinna Roja'. While kids loved his antics with the baby elephant in 'Annai Oru Alayam', they were amazed to see him dance with animated characters
Rajini soon started his climb to the top by slowly entering the big league of villains. 'Bhuvana Oru Kelvi Kuri' was a surprise for the audience, where the actor showed his softer side. 'Dharma Yuddam' was Rajini's first film opposite Sridevi. The
'Justice Gopinath' was Rajini’s first film with his most adored actor and the man he calls his 'father in the film industry', Sivaji Ganesan. His proximity to the thespian grew to such an extent that Sivaji began to treat Rajinikanth like one of his
He got his first 15 minutes of fame in the movie 'Apoorva Raagangal', as he played the role of ‘Pandiyan’. He went on to play a few negative cameos. His Telugu film 'Anthuleni Katha', marked his first full-fledged supporting role.
Rajinikanth was in a poor state when he entered the film institute. The money that his friends and brother sent was barely enough to meet his daily needs. He slept on the footpath and went days without food. He barely had any clothes, and would
Rajini’s sense of humour, mannerisms and style were a rage with his passengers even back then, and his bus was always filled with young college students.It was during this time that his interests in cinema and stage plays became even more pronounced
Satyanarayana Rao, who was then working as head supervisor with the City Improvement Board, took him to Venkobarao, a family friend, who helped him secure a conductor’s job with the city’s transport authority. He did many odd jobs and even worked as
He was schooled at Acharya Patasala in Bangalore and then at the Vivekananda Balak Sangh. Later, his brother enrolled him for a degree in science. Rajini showed more interest in performing arts than in physics and dropped out of college. Rajini’s
Rajinikanth is the youngest of four siblings. He has two older brothers and a sister. He lost his mother at the age of five, and his only consolation then were the stories he heard from his older brother about her.
Rajinikanth was born Shivaji Rao Gaikwad on December 12, 1950 in Bangalore, to police constable Ramoji Rao Gaikwad and Jijabai.
Birthday Special: Facts every Rajinikanth fan ought to know