Rajinikanth
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Rajinikanth
Rajinikanth at the Inauguration of MGR Statue.jpg
Rajinikanth in 2018
Born... Shivaji Rao Gaekwad
12 December 1950 (age 70)[1]
Bangalore, Mysore State, India
Other names
RajniRajini
Occupation
Actorfilm producer
Years active 1975–present
Spouse(s) Latha Rajinikanth (m. 1981)
Children
AishwaryaSoundarya
Relatives see Rajinikanth family
Awards Dadasaheb Phalke Award (2020)[2]
Padma Vibhushan (2016)[3]
Padma Bhushan (2000)
(See full list)
Shivaji Rao Gaekwad[a] (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor who works primarily in Tamil cinema. In addition to acting, he has also worked as a producer and screenwriter. He has won many award including, four Tamil Nadu State Film Best Actor Awards and a Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award. The Government of India has honored him with the Padma Bhushan (2000) and the Padma Vibhushan (2016). He received the Chevalier Sivaji Ganesan Award for Excellence in Indian Cinema at the 4th Vijay Awards.[4] At the 45th International Film Festival of India (2014), he was conferred with the "Centenary Award for Indian Film Personality of the Year". At the 50th edition of the International Film Festival of India (2019), he was honoured with the Icon of Global Jubilee award.[5] He is the second-highest grossing actor in Tamil cinema history, behind M. G. Ramachandran.[6] At the 67th National Film Awards, he was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award.
Following his debut in K. Balachander's 1975 Tamil drama Apoorva Raagangal, Rajinikanth's acting career commenced with a brief phase of portraying antagonistic characters in Tamil films. The Suresh Krissna-directed Baashha (1995) in which Rajinikanth played a crime boss, was a major commercial success in his career and earned him a 'god-like' status in Tamil Nadu.[7] Sivaji (2007) was the third Indian film to enter the 100 Crore Club.[8] He played dual roles, as a scientist and an andro-humanoid robot, in the science fiction film Enthiran (2010) and its sequel 2.0 (2018), both being India's most expensive production at the time of their release, and among the one of highest-grossing Indian films of all time.[b]
Rajinikanth is widely regarded as one of the popular actors in the history of Indian cinema. His popularity has been attributed to his uniquely styled dialogues and idiosyncrasies in films, as well as his political statements and philanthropy. A philanthropist, he undertook a day-long fast in 2002 to protest the Government of Karnataka's decision to not release Kaveri River water into Tamil Nadu, and donated ₹10 million (US$140,000) toward a plan to interlink Indian rivers. Rajinikanth is the only Indian actor to be featured in the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) syllabus, in a lesson titled From Bus Conductor to Superstar. In 2015, a film about his fandom, For the Love of a Man, premiered at the 71st Venice International Film Festival. view more