SunstarTV Bureau: Starting out as a bus conductor and growing to become one of the highest paid actors in film industry, Superstar Rajinikanth’s journey is a source of inspiration. His onscreen unique dashing style and off-screen simplicity has earned a huge round of applause, admirations across the world.
On April 1, the Union Minister of India Prakash Javedkar has twitted about the legendary actor to be confronted the respected 51st Dadasaheb Phalke Award, 2021. Not only this, the actor cum politician also earned respect as a Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibushan awardee.
Today we’ll know 11 lesser known facts about Rajinikanth.
1. The real name of Rajinikanth is Shivaji Rao Gaekwad. He was brought up speaking Marathi and Kannada.
2. Before entering the film industry, Rajinikanth used to work as a coolie, carpenter and a bus conductor.
3. Rajinikanth pursued diploma in acting from Madras Film Institute and also learnt Tamil during his course.
4. Latha Rangachari, Rajinikanth’s wife is 8 years younger than him. The two met when Latha came to interview him for her college magazine. They got married in 1981. Latha runs a Chennai-based school called ‘The Ashram’ now and the couple has two daughters Aishwarya and Soundarya.
5. In the first two years of Rajinikanth’s career, he got only negative roles to play – of an abusive husband, a rapist, a womaniser, a pornographer, an adulterer etc, but it was in 1977 when he first got to enact in a positive role in the movie ‘Bhuvana Oru Kelvikkuri’.
6. Rajinikanth has starred in eleven Tamil remakes of Amitabh Bachchan films like Deewar, Amar Akbar Anthony, Laawaris and Don among others.
7. For his blockbuster movie Shivaji, Rajinikanth received an acting fee of ₹ 26 crore in 2007. This made him the second highest paid actor in Asia after Jackie Chan.
8. His elder daughter Aishwarya is married to actor Dhanush. His younger daughter Soundarya is married to industrialist Ashwin Ramkumar.
9. Rajinikanth commands a huge fan following. On Twitter alone, the superstar has 4.38 million world-wide followers as of December 12, 2017.
10. Rajinikanth is a follower of Hinduism and a strong believer of spirituality. He practices yoga and meditation.
11. Not many know that it is Rajinikanth who began the 100-crore club in the Indian film industry. For the uninitiated, S Shankar’s directorial debut Sivaji (2007) was a blockbuster and reportedly the first Indian film to enter the 100-crore club, thus sealing Rajinikanth’s place in Indian cinema as the pioneer of this club.
