Shivaji Rao Gaikwad a.k.a. Rajnikanth

Rajinikanth

Rajinikanth was born Shivaji Rao Gaikwad in a Maharashtrian family, to mother Jijabai and father Ramoji Rao Gaikwad, on December 12, 1949 in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. He was the youngest of four children and has two older brothers and a sister. After the death of his mother at the age of 5, he struggled with an impoverished lifestyle during his childhood. During that time, he often did odd jobs as a coolie in his community. He attended the Acharya Patasala for elementary education and had his higher education at the Ramakrishna Mission in Bangalore.

He married Latha Rangachari, whom he met during an exclusive interview, on February 26, 1981, at the age of 31 in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. 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 November 18, 2004 and they have two sons named Yathra and Linga. His younger daughter, Soundarya Rajinikanth, works in the film industry as a director, producer and graphic designer. She married industrialist Ashwin Ramkumar on September 3, 2010

Between 1966 and 1973 he worked in many places in Bangalore. He performed various jobs before joining the then Bangalore Transport Service (BTS) as a bus conductor in Bangalore. In 1973, his friend and co-worker Raj Bahadur motivated him to join the Madras Film Institute and also financially supported him for 2 years during his studies. During this time he was noticed in a Kannada play at the Film Institute in Chennai by K. Balachander. The director advised him to learn to speak Tamil, a recommendation that Rajinikanth quickly followed and which proved to be extremely useful in his career.

Rajinikanth (born Shivaji Rao Gaekwad on December 12, 1950) a Indian film actor, media personality, and cultural icon. He made his debut as an actor in Apoorva Raagangal (1975), a Tamil film directed by K. Balachander, whom the actor considers his mentor. He then worked in Tamil cinema often portraying antagonistic characters and gradually rose to acting in lead roles. Other than acting, Rajinikanth also worked as a producer and screenwriter. Apart from his film career, he is also a philanthropist, spiritualist and serves as an influence in the politics of Tamil Nadu.

Rajinikanth is a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour, for his contribution to Indian cinema. Post-1978, he became known as the "superstar" of Tamil cinema and has held a matinee idol status in the popular culture of India. His mannerisms and stylized delivery of dialogue in films attribute to his mass popularity and appeal. He was named one of the most influential persons in South Asia by Asiaweek. While acting in many Indian languages, he has also appeared in the cinemas of other nations, including the United States. After being paid 26 crores (US$5.9 million) for his role in Shivaji (2007), he became the highest paid actor in Asia after Jackie Chan.

As of 2010, Rajinikanth has acted in over 190 films, including Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Hindi, English, and Bengali films. After the release of his first Bollywood film, Andha Kanoon, Rajinikanth did not make as much of an impact in the Mumbai-based industry as he did in the south. He still appeared in several Hindi films, such as Chaalbaaz, Uttar Dakshin, Giraftaar and Hum. He appeared in a supporting role in the American film Bloodstone, co-produced by Ashok Amritraj in 1988, with much fanfare in India at the time of its release. He also made brief stints in the German and Japanese film industries. His film Muthu was dubbed into Japanese and became a major hit in Japan. In 2005, his film Chandramukhi was dubbed in German and released in all German-speaking nations. Despite his first language being Marathi, Rajinikanth has not yet acted in any Marathi films.

Rajinikanth has been called the most popular South Indian film actor of his time. Rajinikanth's popularity has been attributed to "his uniquely styled dialogues and idiosyncrasies in films, as well as his political statements and philanthropy". It is also suggested by the media that some popular actors who worked with Rajinikanth earlier in their careers, such as Gouthami Tadimalla and Nayanthara, were recognized because of their association with Rajinikanth, giving other aspiring actors the urge to work with him. Some fellow actors, such as Cho Ramaswamy, have commentated that Rajinikanth has the potential to be successful in Indian politics due to his popularity and fan base alone.

During a visit to Japan in 2006, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh acknowledged the success of Muthu in the country during a speech, justifying the positive relationship between the two nations. Chandramukhi is notable for being the longest-running Tamil film in India, playing for a total of over 800 days. Sivaji was instrumental in making one of the largest releases for an Indian film in the world; the film entered the list of top ten films of the United Kingdom upon release. Chandramukhi and Sivaji were also released in South Africa, where they eventually became high box-office grossers.

A survey conducted in 2008 by Loyola College in Chennai suggested that Rajinikanth's popularity was decreasing in Tamil Nadu. The survey saw actors M. G. Ramachandran and Sivaji Ganesan, as well as Joseph Vijay, topping the list with Rajinikanth closely following them, though he was still ahead of other actor-turned-politicians, such as Vijayakanth. However, the low result was attributed to Kuselan, which released at the time of the survey with an unsuccessful outcome at box offices.

In October 2010, Grady Hendrix, a writer from the New York Asian Film Festival produced an article about Rajinikanth, describing his mass appeal in India. The article and its writer were featured on WNYC, a local American radio station based in New York City, New York, United States, in an 11-minute commentary on Rajinikanth.

Rajinikanth facts or Rajinikanth jokes are satirical factoids about Rajinikanth. They are widely circulated in text messages and over the internet. Many Rajinikanth jokes are said to be inspired by Chuck Norris facts. Rajinikanth jokes usually surface before the expected release of one of his movies. These satirical jokes have also inspired an iPad application.
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