RAJINIGANTH: RAJINIGANTH

RAJNIKANTH PROFILE:

Real Name: Shivaji Rao Gaekwad
Screen Name: Rajnikanth
Nick Names: Superstar
Profession: Actor
Born: 12 Dec, 1950
Star/Rasi: Sirvana/Magaram
Mother Tongue: Marathi
Birth Place: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Height: 5 " 9'
Weight: 70 Kg
Education: * Early education in Acharya Patasala and later in Raamakrishna Mission, Bangalore(PUC discontinued)
* Studied in the Film Institute

Family:
Father: Ramoji Rao
Mother: Rambhai
Sister: Shrimathi Aswathamma
Brothers: Sathya Narayana Rao & Nageshwara Rao
Wife: Latha
Daughters: Aishwarya & Sowandarya
Son-in-law: Dhanush
Marriage Date: 26.02.1981
Earlier worked as: Carpenter, Bus Conductor
Guru: K.Balachander
Spiritual Guru: Satchithananda Swamiji
Ardent Devotee of: Shri Raghavendra
Politics: Played a major part in putting together an alliance between the DMK and TMC which won the 1996 Tamil nadu elections.
Admires: Lee Kwan Yew(Former Singapore prime minister)

Favourites:
Colour: Black
City: Chennai
Place: Himalayas
Food: Non-Vegetarian items
Dress: White Khurtha
Hollywood Actor: Sylvester Stallone
Indian Actor: Kamal Hassan
Actress: Rekha (Hindi)
Role: Romantic Roles
Musician: Illayaraja
Films: Hollywood Films
Books: Books written by Shri Ramana Maharishi
Novel: Kalki's Ponniyin Selvan & T. Janakiraman's Amma Vanthal
Writer: Jayagandhan
Poet: Kannadasan
Cherishes Appreciation Letter from K.Balachander for the film "Mullum Malarum"
About him: "I saw a fire in his eyes and an enthusiasm coupled with an urge to prove himself. I immediately realized that he was not just one more run-of-the-mill aspirant" - K.Balachander

Facts:

* Had a very troubled childhood. Lost his mother when he was only 5 years old.

* His father was a police constable.

* His ancestors were believed to be from a village called Nachiar Kuppam in Dharmapuri Dist. of Tamil Nadu.

* Got his diploma in acting from Dr.P.N.Reddy.

* Was discouraged a lot by his fellow film institute students.

* In the beginning he did not know to speak Tamil well.

* His film 'Muthu' was dubbed as 'Dancing Maharaja' in Japan and it ran for 23 weeks in Tokyo. Film 'Yejaman' was dubbed as 'Dancing Maharaja II''

* Has acted in two malayalam films and one Bengali film.

* Likes to drive on his own.

*Had acted in 12 of Amitabh's remade movies in Tamil

* When he was working as a conductor his salary was around Rs.750 and one his friends named Raj Bhadhur gave him money to study in the film institute in Chennai.

* Always prefers Big banners.

Address : 18, Ragaveera avenue,
Poes Gardent, Chennai- 600086
Quote: Happiness begins when ambition ends.
ENTRY TO THE FILM INDUSTRY:

Rajnikanth was born on December 12 1949 in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. He was the fourth child to his parents, Rambhai and Ramoji Rao.His original name was Sivaji Rao Gaekwad. He lost his mother at the age of five. He had his schooling at the Acharya Patasala in Bangalore and then at the Vivekananda Balak Sangh, a unit of the Ramakrishna Mission. His mother tongue is Marathi, though he has not done any films in it.Before starting his career in the film industry, he had to take up all sorts of odd jobs. He served as a bus conductor for Karnataka state transport corporation in Bangalore. It was during this time that he nurtured his acting interests by performing in various stage plays.

Acting career:

A friend helped him to join the Madras Film institute where Rajnikanth completed basic acting course in 1974 at the age of 25.He started his acting career in Kannada in the movie "Kathaa Sangama" , directed by Puttanna Kanagal, in 1976.In Tamil, he started with playing supporting roles, beginning as a cancer patient in Apoorva Raagangal (1975), directed by K. Balachander, who assigned him his stage name Rajnikanth. After several villainous roles, his first positive role was Bhuvana Oru Kelvikkuri (1979), in which Rajnikanth played a
failed lover in the first half and a do-gooder in the second.

The second phase of his life started with K Balaji’s Billa, a superhit disproving the canard spread by detractors that Rajnikant was “finished”. He was accepted as a full-fledged hero. Billa was followed by a row of hits like Pokkiri Raja, Thanikkattu Raja, Naan Mahaan Alla and the all-important Moondru Mugham, in which Rajni essayed a triple role. Even two decades after its release, the last continues to be a box-office draw and Rajni’s fans can never tire of the thalaivar’s verbal clash with villain Senthamarai. K Balachander’s first home production, Nettrikkam proved to be yet another milestone in Rajni’s career.As an actor, Rajnikant’s greatest asset, apart from his style is his sense of humour and comic timing. Like Amitabh Bachchan is popular for his drunken soliloquies, Rajnikant is famous for his comic encounters with snakes, repeated umpteen times.

In the early 80s, Rajnikant made a foray into Bollywood with "Andhaa Kanoon", a superhit. But Rajnikant could not concentrate on Hindi films because he was already safely ensconced down South. He still made a few films in Hindi, to mention specially Chaalbaaz which had Sridevi in a dual role.After several films in the Eighties, he played a Hindu saint in his 100th movie, Sri Raghavendra. Many others followed, among them dramas, comedies and, at the end of the eighties, action-oriented family entertainers like Velaikkaran and Manidhan.Annamalai, which released in 1992, was the first Rajini film to gross almost Rs. 100 million at the box office.A new trend where his films’ collections exceed normal regional film expectations started off with Basha, followed by Annamalai, Arunachalam, Ejaman, Muthu and Padayappa. It’s now an accepted fact that only a Rajnikant film can break records set by his own films.Apart from Tamil, Rajnikanth has acted in over 160 movies, including Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi and Bengali. He has also acted in a Hollywood movie Bloodstone in 1988.

Rajnikanth was awarded the Padma Bhushan award in the year 2000 and was rated as one of the most influential persons in South Asia by Asia week. Rajnikanth has won the Filmfare Best Actor Award, South on 2 occasions. He is the highest paid actor in India and the second
highest paid actor in Asia after Jackie Chan.

Unlike the eighties, several movies during his nineties were successful, like Muthu or Basha. At 53, his Baba released amid fanfare. Although the film grossed enough to cover its budget, it was viewed as a miserable showing and fell short of market expectations accumulating heavy losses for the distributors. Rajnikanth himself returned the losses back to the distributors who had immense faith in him. The whole affair cost him dear in terms of repute of making a comeback.

"Chandramukhi", a remake of the Malayalam movie Manichitrathazhu. Chandramukhi was claimed as one of the most successful Tamil films ever as it ran in theatres for over 700 days since release and still running. His next film, "Sivaji: The Boss", directed by S. Shankar will be released in 2007.

RAJNIKANTH FILMOGRAPHY:

Debut:

Tamil:Aboorva Ragangal
Hindi:Andhaa Kanoon
Telugu:Anthuleni Katah
English: Blood stone
Kannada:Katha Sangama
Malayalam: Alavudheenum Arputha Vilakkum
Bengali: BhagyaDevta

Career Firsts:

Hero: Bhairavi
Dual role: Billa
Triple role: Moondru Mugam
Positive role: Kavikuyil
Singing: Adikuthu Kuliru (Mannan)
Story and Screenplay: Valli
Movie dubbed and released in Japan: Muthu
First Film:Katha Sangama
50th Film: Tiger (Telugu)
100th Film: Shri Raghavendrar
125th Film: Rajathi Raja
150th Film : Padyappa

Awards:

2000 Padma Bhushan award from the Govt of India-Tamil Nadu Govt awards
1999 - Best Actor(Padayappa)
1989 - MGR award
1984- Kalaimamani award
1982- Best Actor (Moondru Mugam)
1978 - Best Actor(mullum Malarum)-Filmfare Awards
1984 - Best Actor(Nallavanuku Nallavan)-Cinema Express Awards
1995- Best Actor(Muthu)
1993 - Best Story writer (Valli)
1992 - Best Actor( Annamalai)
1991 - Best Actor(Thalapathy)
1988 - Best Achiever Award(Blood Stone)
1985 - Best Actor(Sri Raagavendirar)
1984 - Best Actor(Nallavanauku Nallavan)
1995 Best Actor Screen Awards(Peaddarayadu)

As Actor:

1. Sivaji (2007) .... Shivaji
2. Chandramukhi (2005) (as Super Star Rajinikanth) .... Dr.Saravanan/Vettaiyan Raja
3. Baba (2002) (as Super Star Rajnikanth) .... Baba
4. Bulandi (2000) (as Superstar Rajnikant) .... Ghajraj Thakur
5. Padaiyappa (1999) .... Padaiyappa
6. Krantikari (1997) (as Rajnikant)
7. Arunachalam (1997) .... Arunachalam
8. Aatank Hi Aatank (1995) .... Munna
9. Badsha (1995) .... Badsha/Manickam
10. Muthu (1995) .... Muthu
11. Peda Rayudu (1995) .... Murdered Village Chief
12. Zameen (1995) (as Rajnikant)
13. Veera (1994) .... Muthuveerappan "Veera"
14. Ejamaan (1993) .... Vanavarayan
15. Insaniyat Ke Devta (1993) .... Anwar
16. Uzhaippaali (1993)
17. Valli (1993)
18. Tyagi (1992) .... Shankar G. 'Dadhu' Dayal
19. Mannan (1992) .... Krishna
20. Annamalai (1992) .... Annamalai
21. Pandian (1992) .... Pandiyan
22. Thalapathi (1991) .... Surya
23. Nattukku Oru Nallavan (1991)
24. Khoon Ka Karz (1991) .... Kishan/Assistant Commissioner Yamdoot
25. Farishtay (1991) .... Inspector Arjun Singh Tange
26. Hum (1991) (as Rajnikant) .... Kumar
27. Dharma Dorai (1991)
28. Phool Bane Angaarey (1991) (as Rajnikant) .... Inspector Ranjeet Singh
29. Shanti Kranti (1991)
30. Adisaya Piravi (1990)
31. ChaalBaaz (1989) (as Rajinikant) .... Jaggu
32. Bhrashtachar (1989) .... Abdul Sattar
33. Gair Kaanooni (1989) (as Rajani Kant) .... Azam Khan
34. Kodiparakkudu (1989) .... Erode Shivagiri/Dada
35. Mappilai (1989)
36. Raajadhi Raaja (1989)
37. Raja Chinna Roja (1989)
38. Siva (1989)
39. Bloodstone (1988) (as Rajni Kanth) .... Shyam Sabu
40. Tamacha (1988) (as Rajanikant) .... Vikram Pratap Singh 'Vicky'
41. Dharmathin Thalaivan (1988)
42. Guru Sisyan (1988)
43. Uttar Dakshin (1987)
44. Daku Hasina (1987) .... Mangal Singh
45. Velaikkaaran (1987)
46. Asli Naqli (1986) (as Rajnikant) .... Birju Ustad
47. Bhagwan Dada (1986) .... Bhagwaan Dada
48. Dosti Dushmani (1986)
49. Maaveran (1986)
50. Mr. Bharath (1986/I)
51. Naan Adimai Illai (1986)
52. Geraftaar (1985) (as Rajanikanth) .... Inspector Hussein (Guest Appearance)
53. Wafadaar (1985) (as Rajani Kant) .... Ranga
54. Bewafai (1985) .... Ranvir
55. Mahaguru (1985) .... Vijay (Maha Guru)
56. Aaj Ka Dada (1985)
57. Ek Saudagar (1985) .... Kishore
58. Naan Sigappu Manithan (1985)
59. Padikkathavan (1985)
60. Sree Raaghavendar (1985) .... Venkatanathan
61. Unn Kannil Neer Vazhindal (1985)
62. John Jani Janardhan (1984) .... Janardhan Gupta
63. Gangvaa (1984)
64. Insaaf Kaun Karega (1984) (as Rajnikant) .... Police Inspector Vikram Singh
65. Meri Adalat (1984) (as Rajnikant)
66. Aakhri Sangram (1984) .... Bholu Pandit
67. Anbulla Rajanikant (1984)
68. Bhooka Sher (1984)
69. Kai Kodukkam Kai (1984) .... Kaalimuthu
70. Naan Mahaan Alla (1984)
71. Nallavanukku Nallavan (1984)
72. Thambikku Entha Ooru (1984)
73. Zulm Ki Zanjeer (1984)
74. Jeet Hamaari (1983) (as Rajinikanth) .... Raju
75. Adutha Varisu (1983)
76. Andhaa Kanoon (1983) .... Vijay Kumar Singh
77. Moondru Mugham (1983) .... Alex Pandiyan
78. Paayum Puli (1983) (as Rajinikant)
79. Sivappu Sooriyan (1983)
80. Thanga Magan (1983)
81. Agni Sakshi (1982)
82. Engeyo Ketta Kural (1982)
83. Pokkiri Raja (1982)
84. Pudhu Kavithai (1982)
85. Ranga (1982)
86. Thanikatu Raja (1982)
87. Thee (1981)
88. Black Cobra (1981)
89. Garjanai (1981)
90. Kazhagu (1981)
91. Netri Kann (1981)
92. Ranuva Veeran (1981)
93. Thillu Mullu (1981) .... Chandran/Indiran
94. Kaali (1980) .... Kaali
95. Anbukku Naan Adimai (1980)
96. Billa (1980) .... Billa
97. Ellaam Un Kairaasi (1980)
98. Johnny/Jani (1980)
99. Murattu Kaalai (1980) .... Kaaliyan
100. Naan Potta Savaal (1980)
101. Ram Robert Rahim (1980) .... Ram
102. Aarilirindhu Aruvathu Varai (1979)
103. Alavuddinum Athbutha Vilakkum (1979) .... Kamruddin
104. Annai Oru Aalayam (1979)
105. Dharma Yuddham (1979)
106. Johnny (1979)
107. Kuppathu Raja (1979)
108. Naan Vaazha Vaippen (1979) .... Michael
109. Ninaithale Inikkum (1979)
110. Thai Illamal Naan Illai (1979)
111. Shankar Saleem Simon (1978)
112. Aval Appadithaan (1978) .... Advertising Boss
113. Bhairavi (1978)
114. Ilamai Oonjal Aadukirathu (1978) .... Murli
115. Mullum Malarum (1978) .... Kali
116. Priya (1978)
117. Thappitha Thala (1978)
118. Aadu Puli Atham (1977)
119. Avargal (1977) .... Ramnath
120. Bhuvana Oru Kelvikkuri (1977)
121. Chilakamma Cheppindi (1977) .... Kasi
122. Gayatri (1977)
123. Pathinaru Vayathinile (1977) .... Parattayan
124. Anthuleni Katha (1976) .... Murthy
125. Moondru Mudichu (1976)
126. Apoorva Raagangal (1975)
127. Katha Sangama (1975)

As Writer:

1. Baba (2002) (screenplay) (story)

As Producer:

1. Baba (2002) (producer)