Bollywood Home» Popular Male Actors in Bollywood » Rajnikant Rajnikant is among the most prominent and bankable stars in the Indian film industry. He is one of the superstars in the South Indian film industry and had also done a few movies in Bollywood. Some of them include Chaalbaaz, Girafthar, Hum and several others. For his contribution to Indian cinema, Rajnikant was awarded the Padma Bhushan, which is India's third highest honour. Born on 12th December, 1949 actor Rajnikant belongs to a Marathi family in Karnataka, India. His real name is Sivaji Rao Gaekwad. It is reported that for his latest film Sivaji, he had received a whopping Rs. 25 crores.

Rajnikant's Film Career
In 1973, with the assistance of a friend, Rajnikant joined the Madras Film institute, where he completed a basic course in acting. Rajnikant made his film debut in 1976 with Katha Sangama (Kannada), which was directed by Puttanna Kanagal. In Tamil cinema he was at first given supporting roles in films like Apoorva Raagangal (1975) and others. Even though Rajnikant refers to K. Balachander as his mentor, in reality it was director S. P. Muthuraman who gave him an entirely new image. Muthuraman first cast him in a positive role in the 1977 film Bhuvana Oru Kelvikkuri.



With the film Mullum Malarum in 1978, Rajnikant became a well established actor on the Tamil film scene. During the period between 1980 and 1989, Rajnikant's film career reached unprecedented heights. Some the hit films of Rajnikant during the 80s were Billa, Naan Mahaan Alla, Murattukaalai, Thanikattu Raja, Pokkiri Raja, and Moondru Mugam. More films followed, which included Thee, Padikkathavan, Mr. Bharath, Velaikkaran, Dharmathin Thalaivan and Maaveeran. Some of these were remakes of popular Bollywood movies.

Personal Life of Rajnikant
Rajnikant got married to Latha on 26th February 1981, when he was 31 years old and they have two children named Aishwarya and Soundarya. His wife Latha presently runs a school called The Ashram. Rajnikant's daughter Aishwarya is married to South Indian actor Dhanush and is the mother of son named Yathra.

Awards Won by Rajnikant
During his acting career, Rajnikant has won several awards and nominations for his outstanding performances in several movies. Between the years 1977 and 2005, this Indian actor has been awarded by several organizations including Tamil Nadu State Government Award, Filmfare, Cinema Express and Filmfans Association among several others.

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