Prime Superstar
RAJINIKANTH
(1950—) The god of Tamil cinema, who sets new box-office records with every film
From the time Shivaji Rao Gaekwad, or Rajinikanth (literally, ‘colour of night’ as christened by his mentor K. Balachander), debuted in 1975 with Apoorva Raagangal, he has been shaking it up. For a state fed on a diet of fair-skinned heroes, he was one of the first leading men with a darker hue, in both skin and performance. “In those days, no director would select a boy who was very dark for any role,” the late Balachander said in an interview. “I am quite dark, you know. My father was darker. So, I thought, why not introduce a dark-complexioned fellow as a new character? Especially as the main villain? It worked out wonderfully.”
Rajinikanth was a memorable antagonist in several films, including Katha Sangama (1975), Moondru Mudichu (1976), Anthuleni Katha (1976) and Pathinaru Vayathinile (1977), before producers and directors took note of his charisma and gave him lead roles. For the first time, the Tamil populace saw someone who looked like them on the silver screen. Tamil cinema today is full of dark-skinned heroes, including Rajinikanth’s son-in-law Dhanush.
Rajinikanth was born into a Marathi family in Bengaluru and grew up speaking Kannada and Marathi. He had to learn Tamil in a fortnight when Balachander cast him in Apoorva Raagangal, and has acted in Telugu, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam and Bengali films as well. His political rivals bring up his Karnataka origins whenever the Cauvery issue flares up and Rajinikanth always maintains he is a Tamilian first.