Rajinikanth celebrates 45th year of stardom: Five unknown facts about the star

Rajinikanth, born as Shivaji Rao Gaekwad, is now the biggest Superstar in the Indian film industry. Even though predominantly seen in Tamil cinema, the actor enjoys a huge fan following in all nooks of the country. This week is quite special for Rajinikanth, as the actor is celebrating his 45th year in the industry, as his first movie ‘Apoorva Ragangal’, directed by K. Balachander was released on August 15, 1975.

As fans are busy celebrating this milestone achievement of their favorite Superstar, The Gulf Indians presents you with some unknown facts which most of us don’t know about the actor.

Rajinikanth has acted in a Hollywood movie

Yes, you heard it right, Indian superstar Rajinikanth has acted in a Hollywood movie named Bloodstone. The film directed by Dwight H Little was released in 1988. This movie was primarily shot in India and was later marketed as an Indian-American movie. However, the film did not succeed in impressing audiences, and it emerged as a disaster at the box-office.

Rajinikanth is a screenwriter

Rajinikanth’s talent is not just confined to acting. He has written the screenplay for two films, Valli (1993), and Baba (2002). Even though Valli received critical acclaim, it failed to perform at the box-office. Baba was released with huge pre-release hype, but the film unexpectedly bombed at the box-office.

Rajinikanth started as a theatre artist

Before joining the Madras Film Institute, Rajinikanth kicked off his acting career in theatre plays. He used to play pivotal roles in plays written by Kannada playwright Topi Muniappa.

Rajinikanth has acted in triple roles

Rajinikanth is one of those few actors in the world to portray triple roles in a film. In Moondru Mugam directed by A Jagannathan, the Superstar portrayed three roles; Alex Pandian, Arun and John. Upon release, this film emerged as a blockbuster, and it enjoyed a theatrical run of more than 175 days.

Rajinikanth’s lost love, Nirmala

When Rajinikanth was working as a bus conductor in Bangalore, he fell in love with a lady named Nirmala, whom he fondly called Nimmy. Nirmala, at that time, was studying MBBS, and both of them used to spend time whenever Nirmala boards the BMTC bus. It was Nirmala who compelled Rajinikanth to join Madras Film Institute, and as financial help, she also gave him Rs.500. However, after joining the film institute, Rajinikanth came to Bangalore, but Nirmala did not turn up. Rajinikanth visited Nirmala’s house, but the neighbours informed him that the family has shifted to some other location.