RAJINIKANTH PROFILE
Rajinikanth is an Indian film actor, media personality, and cultural icon. He made his debut as an actor in the National Film Award-winning motion picture Apoorva Raagangal (1975), directed by K. Balachander, whom the actor considers his mentor.After a brief phase of portraying antagonistic characters in Tamil films, he gradually rose to become an established film actor. Within a few years of his career, he was claimed to be the superstar of Tamil cinema and has since continued to hold a matinee idol status in the popular culture of India. His mannerisms and stylized delivery of dialogue in films contribute to his mass popularity and appeal. While working in other regional film industries of India, he also appeared in the cinemas of other nations, including in that of the United States. After being paid
26 crore (US$5.9 million) for his role in Sivaji (2007), he became the highest paid actor in Asia after Jackie Chan. 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 Dravidian politics.He was bestowed the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour, in the year 2000 for his contribution to Indian cinema. He was named one of the most influential persons in South Asia by Asiaweek. He was also named by Forbes India as the most influential Indian of the year 2010.
LIFE HISTORY:
Rajinikanth was born as Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (Marathi: शिवाजीराव गायकवाड) in a Maharashtrian family,to mother Jijabai and father Ramoji Rao Gaekwad, on December 12, 1950 in the Indian city of Bangalore in Mysore State, which was the name of present-day Karnataka. He was the youngest of four siblings and has two brothers and a sister. After the death of his mother at his 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 Government Model Primary School at Gavipuram, Bangalore where he had his elementary education in Kannada.
Between 1966 and 1973 he worked in many places in Chennai and Bangalore. He performed various jobs before joining the then Bangalore Transport Service (BTS) as a bus conductor in Bangalore. He began to take part in stage plays after Kannada playwright and director Topi Muniappa offered him a chance to act in mythological moral plays, out of which the most notable role performed by him was that of the villainous Duryodhana. In 1973, his friend and co-worker Raj Bahadur motivated him to join the Madras Film Institute and also financially supported him for two years during his studies. His performance in a stage play eventually caught the eye of film director 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.
POLITICS:
In 1995, Rajinikanth began supporting the Indian National Congress after meeting Prime Minister Narasimha Rao. An opinion poll conducted by the magazine Kumudam predicted that Congress with Rajinikanth's support might win up to 130 seats in Tamil Nadu Assembly. In 1996, when the Congress Party decided to align with All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), Rajinikanth supported Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) alliance. The TMC used a bicycle as their election symbol and used an image of Rajinikanth riding a bicycle from the film Annamalai in their posters. Rajinikanth said, "Even God cannot save Tamil Nadu if AIADMK returns to power." Rajinikanth wholeheartedly supported the DMK and TMC alliance and asked the people of Tamil Nadu and his fans to vote for that alliance. This alliance had a complete victory in 1996. In 1996, Rajinikanth supported the DMK-TMC alliance in parliamentary elections
In 2002, Rajinikanth undertook a daylong fast to protest the Government of Karnataka's decision to not release Kaveri River water into Tamil Nadu and announced that he would contribute
10 million toward a plan to interlink the Indian rivers. He met with Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and many experts to canvass support for the project. However, most other members of the Tamil film industry, including members of the South Indian Film Artistes' Association (SIFAA), organized their own solidarity protest. Film director Bharathi Raja stated that Rajinikanth was on the verge of dividing the film industry and called him "traitor who had a tacit understanding with the Karnataka government".During the 2008 hunger strike organized by SIFAA during the Hogenakkal water dispute, he reprimanded politicians in Karnataka. Further, he appealed to leaders not to inflame the water project issue for political gains and requested that the issue should be resolved soon. He urged the Karnataka politicians "to speak the truth". "They cannot be fooled and will not remain silent if you continue to act in such manner," he stated.Vatal Nagaraj, a Kannada activist and leader of the Kannada Chaluvali Paksha, demanded an apology from Rajinikanth and threatened that he would not be allowed in the state of Karnataka and all his films would be boycotted for Rajinikanth's speech against Kannada politicians.
