Rajinikanth

Shivaji Rao Gaikwad, born on 12 December 1950 and known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor who primarily works in Tamil cinema. Over more than five decades, he has appeared in 170 films across Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Bangla, and Malayalam. He is widely considered one of the most successful and popular actors in Indian cinema history. The Government of India awarded him the Padma Bhushan in 2000 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2016, the country’s third and second highest civilian honors.

He also received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2019, the highest Indian award for cinema, and the IFFI Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to world cinema. Rajinikanth began his acting career with a 1975 debut in K. Balachander’s Tamil drama Apoorva Raagangal, initially playing antagonistic roles in Tamil films. His first major positive role came as a scorned lover in S. P. Muthuraman’s Bhuvana Oru Kelvi Kuri (1977), followed by Mullum Malarum and Aval Appadithan (both 1978), which earned him critical acclaim; Mullum Malarum won him a Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize for Best Actor.

1978–1989: Experimentation and breakthrough

By the end of the 1970s, he had worked across all South Indian film industries and established a career in Tamil cinema. He played dual roles in the action thriller Billa (1980), a remake of the Hindi film Don (1978), which became his biggest commercial success up to that point, earned him stardom, and cemented his action hero image. He starred in a triple role in Moondru Mugam (1982), which earned a special prize at the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards. The following year, he made his Hindi film debut in T. Rama Rao’s top-grossing Andhaa Kaanoon (1983).

Nallavanukku Nallavan (1984) won him the Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Actor. In the latter half of the 1980s, he starred in several successful Tamil and Hindi films, including Geraftaar (1985), Padikkadavan (1985), Mr. Bharath (1986), Velaikaran (1987), Manithan (1987), Dharmathin Thalaivan (1988), Mappillai (1989), and ChaalBaaz (1989). In 1991, Mani Ratnam’s Tamil crime film Thalapathi earned Rajinikanth major critical acclaim. He collaborated with Suresh Krissna on several films, including Annaamalai (1992) and Baashha (1995); the latter was his biggest commercial success yet and remained the highest-grossing Tamil film for many years.

1990–2010: Commercial peak

Other successes include P. Vasu’s Mannan (1992), Uzhaippali (1993), and K. S. Ravikumar’s Muthu (1995) and Padayappa (1999); Padayappa became his and Tamil cinema’s highest-grossing movie at the time, surpassing Baashha. After a few years’ hiatus, he returned with the comedy horror Chandramukhi (2005), which became the highest-grossing Tamil film ever. His next film, S. Shankar’s Sivaji (2007), was the third Indian film and first Tamil film to enter the 100 Crore Club.

He then played dual roles as a scientist and an andro-humanoid robot in the science fiction film Enthiran (2010) and its sequel 2.0 (2018), both of which were India’s most expensive productions at the time and among the highest-grossing Indian films ever. His action films Jailer (2023) and Coolie (2025) were major commercial successes in Tamil cinema, making him the only actor in the industry with three films surpassing the ₹500 crore mark. Known for his uniquely styled mannerisms and one-liners in films, Rajinikanth has a huge fan base and cult following. He has won numerous film awards, including the National Film Award, eight Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, a Nandi Award, a Filmfare Award, and two Maharashtra State Film Awards.

Early life and background

Asiaweek named him one of the most influential people in South Asia, and Forbes India named him the most influential Indian of 2010. Rajinikanth was born Shivaji Rao Gaikwad on 12 December 1950 into a Marathi family in Bangalore, Mysore State (present-day Karnataka). His mother was a homemaker, and his father, Ramoji Rao Gaekwad, was a police constable. His ancestors came from Mavadi Kadepathar, Pune district, Maharashtra.

He is the youngest of four siblings, with two elder brothers, Satyanarayana Rao and Nageshwara Rao, and a sister, Aswath Balubhai. After his father retired in 1956, the family moved to the Hanumantha Nagar suburb of Bangalore and built a house there. He lost his mother at age nine. He attended primary school at the Gavipuram Government Kannada Model Primary School in Bangalore.

As a child, he was “studious and mischievous” and had a strong interest in cricket, football, and basketball. During this time, his brother enrolled him at the Ramakrishna Math, a Hindu monastery run by the Ramakrishna Mission, where he was taught Vedas, tradition, and history, which instilled a sense of spirituality. He also began acting in plays at the math, and his interest in theatre grew there; he once performed the role of Ekalavya’s friend from the Hindu epic Mahabharata, earning praise from Kannada poet D. R. Bendre.

After sixth grade, he attended Acharya Pathasala Public School, completing his pre-university course there, and spent much of his time acting in plays. After finishing school, Rajinikanth worked several jobs, including as a coolie, before becoming a bus conductor for the Bangalore Transport Service. He continued acting in plays after Kannada playwright Topi Muniappa offered him a role in a mythological play. He decided to take an acting course at the newly formed Madras Film Institute after seeing an advertisement, though his family was not fully supportive of his decision.