Indian Superstar Rajinikanth Wiki & Photos

Rajinikanth was born December 12, 1950 as Shivaji Rao Gaikwad is an Indian film actor, media personality and cultural icon. He debuted as an actor at the National Film Award-winning film Apoorva Raagangal (1975), directed by K. Balachander, who the actor believes his mentor.

After a short phase of portraying antagonistic characters in Tamil movies, in the end he left to become an established actor. Within a few years of his career, he claimed to be a superstar in Tamil cinema and has since continued to hold a matinee idol status in popular culture in India.

Rajinikanth's mannerisms and stylized delivery of dialogue in the film contributes to his mass popularity and appeal. When you work in other regional film industries in India, he also appeared on the cinema of other nations, including the United States. After being paid 26 crore (U.S. $ 5.9 million) for its role in Sivaji (2007), he became the highest paid actor in Asia after Jackie Chan.

Rajinikanth has worked in over 150 films across the different film industries in India. He won a Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award and six Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, four Best Actor awards and two special awards for Best Actor.

Rajinikanth was donated by the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honor, in 2000 for his contribution to Indian cinema. Other than acting, Rajinikanth has also worked as a producer and screenwriter.