Rajinikanth's life in pics

Rajinikanth, fondly called Thalaivar (Leader) by his fans, was born on December 12, 1950 to a Marathi family in Bangalore.

He was the fourth child of his parents, Jijabai and Ramojirao Gaekwad, a police constable. He lost his mother at the age of five. He attended elementary school at the Acharya Paathshala in Basavanagudi, Bangalore and then at the Vivekananda Balaka Sangha.

Rajinikanth struggled a lot during his early age because of his family's low income. Although his mother-tongue is Marathi he has not yet acted in any Marathi films.

He worked with various jobs in Bangalore and also attended a theatre for stage plays. Before starting his career in the film industry, he used to practice stunts at the Rama Hanuman Temple at a hill near his house.

He then primarily worked as a bus conductor for the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation in Bangalore. His charisma and style were noted by the passengers who travelled with him and gave him suggestions in becoming an actor.

It was during this time that he nurtured his acting interests by performing in various stage plays.

He received India's third highest honour, the Padma Bhushan, for his contribution to Indian cinema.

He is best known for his mass popularity and appeal, largely drawn from his mannerisms and stylized delivery of dialogue in films. Other than acting, Rajinikanth worked as a screenwriter, film producer, and also a playback singer.

Apart from his film career, he is a philanthropist and also serves as an influence in the politics of Tamil Nadu.

Rajinikanth joined the Madras Film Institute in 1974. As of 2002, he has acted in over 150 films, which includes Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, English and Bengali language films.

Rajinikanth debuted as an actor in 1975 under the direction of K Balachander in supporting roles. He was later favoured in portraying antagonistic characters and gradually rose to acting in lead roles.

Rajinikanth's first film was in Tamil, where he was initially casted in supporting roles, debuting as a cancer patient in Apoorva Raagangal in 1975.

The film was directed by K Balachander, who is constantly referred by Rajinikanth as his "guru" or mentor.

The following year, Rajinikanth acted in his first Kannada film, Katha Sangama, directed by Puttanna Kanagal. Though Rajinikanth refers to director K Balachander as his mentor, it was director SP Muthuraman who actually revamped Rajinikanth's image entirely.

Muthuraman first experimented with him in a positive role in Bhuvana Oru Kelvikkuri (1977), as a villain in the first half of the film and a protagonist in the second.

Around this time Mullum Malarum (1978), directed by J Mahendran, established Rajinikanth in the Tamil film arena as a film hero. After the release of his 1978 film Bhairavi, he became known as the "super star" of Tamil cinema, which was the title given to him by film producer S Thanu and till this date used by many people to refer to him.

The success of Bhuvana Oru Kelvikkuri prompted Muthuraman to make a mushy melodrama with Rajinikanth as a hero sacrificing everything for his siblings in Aarilirunthu Arubathu Varai (1979).

These films were the turning points in Rajinikanth's career; he changed from an actor who merely enthralled the audiences to one who could also evoke emotions.

The acceptance of Rajinikanth sans his stylized mannerisms proved he had at last become a "star" from a "common actor." His film roles were mainly as a villain during the period 1975 to 1977, co-starring frequently with Kamal Haasan as the protagonist, in movies like 16 Vayadhinilae, Moondru Mudichu and Avargal.

He also appeared in the cinemas of other nations, including American cinema. He was paid Rs 26 crores for Sivaji: The Boss, making him the highest paid actor in Asia after Jackie Chan.

Rajinikanth made his debut in Bollywood with Andha Kanoon but the film went on to become a poor grosser.

He still appeared in several Hindi films, such as Chaalbaaz, Uttar Dakshan, Giraftaar and Hum.

During a phase of his career, Rajinikanth abruptly chose to quit acting, but was coaxed back. He continued acting with the blockbuster Tamil film Billa, which was a remake of the blockbuster Bollywood movie Don

With its phenomenal success he was accepted as a full-fledged hero. Billa was followed by a row of hits, namely Murattu Kaalai, Pokkiri Raja, Thanikattu Raja, Naan Mahaan Alla, Pudukavithai and Moondru Mugam.

K Balachander's first home production, Netrikan proved to be yet another milestone in Rajni's career.

He acted in his first cameo role alongside Meena Durairaj, who was a child actor then, in the movie Anbulla Rajinikanth (1984).

More box-office hits dominated the 1980's with Padikkathavan, Thee, Velaikaran, Dharmathin Thalaivan, Mr. Bharath, and Maaveeran.

In his 100th movie, Sri Raghavendra, he played the Hindu saint Raghavendra Swami.

He starred in the 1988 American film Bloodstone, which released with much fanfare in India, however, unsuccessful in the United States.

His 1995 film Muthu was dubbed into Japanese while his 2005 film Chandramukhi was dubbed in German and released in all German-speaking nations.

Rajinikanth chose to act in director P. Vasu's Tamil remake of Manichithrathazhu, Chandramukhi. Chandramukhi was released on 14 April 2005, and went on to create new box office records such as being the longest running Tamil film, as of 2007.Just after Chandramukhi's release, it was reported that AVM Productions were to produce a film directed by S Shankar starring Rajinikanth.

The film was titled Sivaji: The Boss and released on 15 June 2007 went on to become ranked among other major releases of the year.Sivaji charted as one of the top-ten best films of United Kingdom and South Africa box-offices upon release.

After more than a three-year sabbatical from cinema, at 52 years of age, he starred in his home production, Baba which released on 15 August 2002.The screenplay revolved around the story about a gangster who later engages in spirituality. It fell short of market expectations and the high bids reportedly translated to heavy losses for the distributors which Rajinikanth repaid.

Following Sivaji, Rajinikanth worked with P Vasu again for Kuselan, a remake of the Malayalam film Kadha Parayumbol, in which Rajinikanth played a cameo role as himself, a star in the Indian film industry, and as a best friend to the main character.Some distributors incurred major losses due to the film, for which Rajinikanth voluntarily settled with his own budget.

During the course of the production for Sivaji, Ocher Studios, the animation company of Rajinikanth's daughter Soundarya Rajinikanth, in association with Adlabs announced their intention of producing a CGI animation film starring an animated version of Rajinikanth. He has lent his voice to the lead character in the project is titled Sultan: The Warrior; directed by his daughter Soundarya Rajinikanth with music provided by AR Rahman.

Rajinikanth again teamed up with S Shankar and AR Rahman for Endhiran.

Released on Oct 1, 2010, Endhiran was Rajinikanth's latest film which was a huge hit at the box office. He romanced Aishwarya Rai in the movie.

The southern superstar was also named the Entertainer of the Decade at the NDTV Indian of the Year 2010 Awards.

He married Latha Rangachari, on 26 February 1981, at the age of 31 in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh and they have two daughters named Aishwarya Rajinikanth and Soundarya Rajinikanth.

His wife, Latha Rajinikanth currently runs a school named The Ashram. His elder daughter Aishwarya Rajinikanth married actor Dhanush on 18 November 2004 and they have one son named Yathra. His second daughter, Soundarya Rajinikanth, works in the film industry as a director, producer and graphic designer.

His second daughter Soundarya Rajinikanth also tied the knot recently.

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