Acting Career Of Rajinikanth

Rajinikanth was bitten by the acting bug when he appeared in local stage productions. Eventually he quit his job, moved to Madras, the main center for Tamil cinema. He entered the Madras Film institute and completed his basic acting course in 1974 at the age of twenty-five.

His first film appearance was in a small role in the Kannada movie Katha Sangama by the late director Puttanna Kanagal. His first appearance in a Tamil film was a supporting role as a cancer patient in the movie Apoorva Raagangal(1975).

The film's director, K. Balachandar, took an interest in the young actor, advising him, giving him the stage name of Rajinikanth. The film's star, Kamal Hassan, became one of Rajnikanth's closest friends. Both of these connections helped him find his feet in the ferociously competitive film industry.

Much like the Bollywood star, Rajnikanth was known, at first, for playing villain roles. He played a cruel womanizer in the 1976 Moondru Mudichu, and a villain in 16 Vayadhinile and Gayathri.

Director S. P. Muthuraman took a chance casting him in a positive role in Bhuvana Oru Kelvikkuri. In that film, Rajinikanth played a villain in the first half and a refined and kind man in the second.

He soon became a staple of the Tamil film industry, appearing in film after film. Sometimes he was a romantic hero (Mullum Malarum, Arilirundhu Arubathu Varai), sometimes a gangster (Billa, Pokkiri Raja). He did a comedic turn in Thillu Mullu (1981) and played a Hindu saint in Sri Raghavendra (1985).

In the late 1980s, he began performing in action films like Velaikkaran, Manidhan, and Dharmathin Thalaivan. These films were often major hits.

His latest releases have been Chandramukhi (April 2005), a major hit, and Baba (2002), which did not do well at the box office.

He has been signed for a film to be called Sivaji, which will be directed by S. Shankar.

Rajinikanth has acted in over 160 films, including movies in Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi and Bengali. He has also acted in one Hollywood movie (Bloodstone in 1988).

In 2000, Rajinikanth was given a Padma Bhushan award.