December 12 may be just another date for the rest of the world, but for the fans of Tamil Actor Rajinikanth it is a day of pure admiration, celebration of their very own eternal Superstar. It is no surprise the sheer fanbase the actor has generated over 5 decades solely as the throne actor of not just Tamil cinema but in the whole nation. It is normal and occasional for actors to have their front run and eventually succumb to an array of flops that may tarnish their future or status. This is not the case of Rajinikanth as the actor has blended himself into setting trends, styles, standards that are unreachable.
This continues till date as the actor still reigns over Kollywood as the King of Blockbusters, ruling the theatres for the sole reason of celebrating cinema for the masses. Rajinikanth as an actor comes as a package as a complete entertainer be it with his uncompleted style, aura or the way he single handedly owns the screen, the man has done it all, continues to do so.
Journey to Stardom
Born as Shivaji Rao Gaikwad in Karnataka, the youngest of four in his family was known to be studious and mischievous kid, he had a proper education but couldn’t find better jobs and even took jobs as a Coolie followed by being a Bus conductor in the Banglore Transportation. His love towards theatre grew from school and so the youngster saved up for registering in the newly opened Madras Film Institute where he impressed the Tamil director and visionary K. Balachander who asked him to learn Tamil and pulled him into the Tamil Industry.
#RememberingKBSir ..you will always remain in our thoughts and hearts KB thatha. pic.twitter.com/V1hC9FVv8n
— Aishwarya Rajinikanth (@ash_rajinikanth) December 23, 2015
The director also changed his name to Rajinikanth and initially lodged him in supporting roles and saw the park of captivating potential in him and further made him one of the most celebrated heroes of Tamil cinema, remarkably as a darker skinned hero also making him stand out as a performer, actor, a style icon.
Rajnikanth as a Trendsetting actor
The whole world knows how much of an iconic stylish actor Rajinikanth is, be it tossing mints in his mouth or swirling his glass to somehow fit aptly ot the infamous salute, he is the OG trendsetter for fans to be in the shoes of a hero, imitate his style, wear his clothes and feel a certain percentage of physicality and feel completely entertained. For many cinephiles the very meaning of cinema comes under such small joyful escapisms of imitating, celebrating or simply being entertained without being distracted. Such magnetic hold can be possessed by a selected few actors who just have to be present on the big screen for the whistles to overtake, flooding the theatres with boisterous celebrations.
There’s always been a hidden performer inside superstar❤️ pic.twitter.com/GTEdijK0Kb
— jay. (@ohsupernovaaa) December 11, 2024
Rajnikanth can also not just be fitted into the circle of ‘a stylish entertainer’ as once the sincere and seasoned actor steps out with performances so proper that convinces us equally, pulling threads of emotions and tightening it. Be it a rigid brother of a innocent yet stubborn sister in ‘Mullum Malarum’ or in transforming a yearning for mother’s love into anger while shifting bases into trying and able to be the receiver of the said love in ‘Thalapathi’, Rajinikanth as a ‘actor’ as people expect or define has always been a limb in his performances.
Age Defying Box office Trailblazer of Indian Cinema
One of the massive box office collections of Tamil Cinema in recent times is Rajinikanth starrer ‘Jailer’ which collected a reported 605 crores, making the actor the one and only actor above the age of 70 to collect such collection in India. Apart from Rajinikanth, actors like Mammootty, Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra are the very few active actors in India. The fact that Rajinikanth and Mammootty are still opted for leading roles and given reliable and bankable projects is appreciable. While the rest have settled for supporting roles, still impressively outstanding in their own ways, the sustenance in the case of Tamil fans’ dear ‘Thalaivar’ is remarkable.
Even actor Amitabh Bachchan did a crucial supportive role in Rajinikanth starrer ‘Vettaiyan’ while actor Dharmendra was last seen doing a cameo in 2023 Hindi release ‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’. His contemporary actors such as Kamal Hassan, Mammootty and Mohanlal although are still taking up leading roles, they are also seen in supportive roles or failing to bring in the huge grossing as the celebrated Superstar does in Tamil industry.
Kamal Hassan has an impressive line up with ‘Indian 3’, ‘Thug Life’, ‘Kalki 2898 AD Part 2’ while Mammootty is having the time of his life exploring different genres with movies like ‘Dominic and the Ladies’ Purse’ and another project with Mohanlal tentatively titled as ‘MMM’. Mohanlal is now awaiting the release of his directorial debut ‘Barroz’.
#KattuKuyilu Song celebrations in Bangalore's Aruna Theatre today. Peak vibe 🥵🥵💥💥🔥🔥#Thalapathi Re-release
— Bangalore Rajini FC ✰ C🕶️lie (@Bangalore_RFC) December 12, 2024
HAPPY BIRTHDAY THALAIVAA 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻#HBDSuperstarRajinikanth @rajinikanth pic.twitter.com/0SOSFK3zAL
Rajinikanth’s ability to create an osmosis of box office collection and rope in audiences with his sheer presence is unmatched with even the up and coming stars or the available stars on market who are also in the run to beat the veteran actor’s movie collections. Even Rajinikanth’s re- releases are celebrated grandly with housefull shows and filling up morning shows which is quite a feat for an actor of his age. Yet people are not done with his screen presence, anticipating for his release, looking for that one mass dialogue or the carefully curated stylish action sequence for them to be pumped up.
One cannot push Rajinikanth’s achievements in Box Office collections as a mere coincidence. The actor was solely responsible for putting Tamil Film industry in new grossing records and clubs like
First Tamil Film to collect 25 Crores – Baasha (1995)
First Tamil Film to collect 50 and eventually Crores – Sivaji: The Boss (2007)
First Tamil Movie to collect 300 crores – Enthiran (2010)
First Tamil Movie to collect 350 crores – 2.0 (2018)
While the clear records of collections of many other record breaks may be differing but the fact that in all of the conversations regarding massive Box Office grosses, it is one name that is a top competitor- Rajinikanth. Even the list of Highest Grossing Tamil Movies of All Time goes through a similar tunnel with the two spots reserved by Rajinikanth’s 2.0 and Jailer with a combined collection of a colossal collection of 1450 crores, making the actor the Ultimate Box Office King of Tamil Cinema.
Rajinikanth is an enigma of a perfect concoction of an entertainer and surprising and dedicated actor who can lift up the projects exclusively. As Telugu actor Nani noted in a recent promotion interview how actor Rajini simply molds himself into the character also shifting based on the fellow characters he is performing with as a dear son in front of his mother, a shy and anxious lover with his girlfriend, a powerhouse action performer before the villain, which makes him the complete package. Can the younger generation of actors still compete or overthrow Rajinikanth’s reign over the frequent box office dominance?
