Rajinikanth

Some Lesser Known Facts About Rajinikanth

• Does Rajinikanth smoke?: No (Quit)

• Does Rajinikanth drink alcohol?: Yes

• Rajnikanth is a Maharashtrian by birth and not a Tamilian, though his ancestors hailed from both Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

• He lost his mother at a young age after which he was raised by his father and his elder brothers.

  

• He was a very naughty kid in his childhood.

• Before becoming an actor he did odd jobs in Chennai and Bengaluru such as a carpenter, a coolie, and a bus conductor for the Bangalore Transport Service (BTS). As a bus conductor, he used to get ₹750/month.

• His friend, Raj Bahadur, used to give him funds to learn acting in a film institution in Chennai.

  

• As he was keen on acting, he joined the Madras Film Institute, and during one of his stage performances, he met the director, K Balachander, who offered him a role in his Tamil film. Until that time, he was not good at speaking Tamil, but he quickly learned it and master the language.

  

• He made his acting debut alongside Kamal Haasan in Tamil film ‘Apoorva Raagangal‘ (1975).

  

• For the initial two years of his acting career, he got recognised for his negative roles, until he got the lead role in the Telugu film ‘Chilakamma Cheppindi‘ (1977).

• His first commercial success was ‘Billa’ (1980), a remake of Amitabh Bachchan’s ‘Don’ (1978).

  

• He met his wife Latha, when a group of college girls came to take his interview, where Latha was leading the group. Rajinikanth got so much attracted to Latha that he proposed her on the same day.

• In his 100th film, he played the role of a Hindu saint ‘Raghavendra Swami’ in the film ‘Sri Raghavendra‘ (1985).

  

• In 1988, Rajinikanth did his first and only English film ‘Bloodstone,’ an Indian-American action-adventure film.

  

• His film ‘Raaja Chinna Roja‘ (1989), was the first Tamil film to use animation.

  

• His only film that was released with a U/A certificate was ‘Thalapathi‘ (1991).

• In 2002, he did a day-long fast to protest the Karnataka Government’s decision not to release water from the river Kaveri into Tamil Nadu. Also in 2008, he participated in a day-long fast with other Tamil film personalities, demanding that the Sri Lankan government must end the civil war and give Sri Lankan Tamils their rights.

  

• In 2007, he became the highest paid Asian actor after Jackie Chan, when he was paid ₹26 crore for the film ‘Sivaji.’

• His science fiction film ‘Enthiran‘ (English – Robot) was supposed to be done by Kamal Haasan.

• Rajinikanth was named as the Most Influential Indian of 2010, by Forbes India.

• He made a special appearance in Shah Rukh Khan‘s Sci-Fi film, ‘Ra.One‘ (2011).

• In 2011, he supported social activist Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement and offered him to use of his marriage hall, Raghavendra Kalyana Mandapam in Chennai.

• Since 1995, he goes to the Himalayas after every film.

  

• He doesn’t meet people after 9 pm.

• Rajinikanth is very punctual and reaches all his shootings before time.

• He is known for his humble nature, simplicity, and down to earth personality.

  

• He has a God-like stature in South India.
  

  

  In 2023, a person named Karthi, residing in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, constructed a temple at his home which he dedicated to Rajinikanth. This temple was a testament to Karthi’s profound admiration and respect for Rajinikanth. The temple showcased a 250 kg idol of the actor.

  

• Meena is the only actress who has worked with him as a child actor and as his heroine.

  

• His fans celebrate his birthday (12 December) as ‘World Style Day‘ or ‘International Style Day.’

• His spiritual guru was, Swami Satchidananda, the founder of Integral Yoga.

  

• He has acted alongside Sripriya in more than 27 movies, the most with any actress.

  

• He paid the losses of his distributors when his films ‘Baba’ (2002), and ‘Kuselan’ (2008), failed at the box office.

• He is the owner of Raghavendra Mandapam marriage hall in Chennai.

  

• His much famous style of tossing cigarette came from an incidence when he wanted to join a gang in his school days, as they were his seniors so they refused, after which he thought he would impress the guys with this trick. He used to practice this trick in the bushes of the school.
  

• He is the first Indian actor to have featured in black & white, coloured, animated, and 3D film.

  

• On 25 October 2021, he was honoured with the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award by the Government of India. The award was presented to him by the  Vice President of India Venkaiah Naidu. The actor dedicated his award to his mentor K Balachander, his brother Sathyanarayana Rao Gaikwad and his bus driver-friend Raj Bahadur. After receiving the award, in a short speech, he said,
  

  I dedicate this award to my guru and mentor K Balachander sir, and I remember him with gratitude. I also dedicate this to my my brother Thiru Sathyanarayana Rao Gaikwad, who was a father figure to me, and raised me with great values instilling spirituality in me. Raj Bahadur was the first person to identify the acting talent in me when I was a bus conductor, and encouraged me to enter the world of cinema. I’d also like to thank all my producers, directors, technicians, co-artistes, distributors, media and the press. They are the Gods who keep me living.”

  

• In 2023, Rajinikanth again became India’s highest-paid actor. As per reports, he received a total payment of Rs. 210 crores for his leading role in the film ‘Jailer’ which included Rs. 100 crores for his involvement in the project. ^[4]The Times of India

• He has reportedly got his voice insured and also holds a copyright for his voice.