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Rajinikanth

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|archivedate=15 March 2011}}</ref> Almost every film of Rajinikanth has punchlines delivered by him in an inimitable style, and these punchlines often have a message or even to warn the film's antagonists. These dialogues are usually fabricated to create new ones or even taken in a comical way, but do not fail to create a sense of entertainment among viewers. It is suggested by the media that some popular actors who worked with Rajinikanth earlier in their careers, such as Gouthami Tadimalla and Nayanthara, were recognised because of their association with Rajinikanth, giving other aspiring actors the urge to work with him. Some fellow actors, such as Cho Ramaswamy, have commentated that Rajinikanth has the potential to be successful in Indian politics due to his popularity and fan base alone.

During a visit to Japan in 2006, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh acknowledged the success of Muthu in the country during a speech, justifying the positive relationship between the two nations. Chandramukhi is notable for being the longest-running Tamil film in India, playing for a total of over 800 days. Sivaji was instrumental in making one of the largest releases for an Indian film in the world; the film entered the list of top ten films of the United Kingdom upon release. Chandramukhi and Sivaji were also released in South Africa, where they eventually became high box-office grossers. In December 2010, it was reported that students of the post-graduate management program at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad would use Enthiran as a case study to analyse the business of cinema and its success story, as part of an elective course called Contemporary Film Industry: A Business Perspective. The course would also study Muthu.

"Rajinikanth facts" or "Rajinikanth jokes" are satirical factoids about Rajinikanth. They are widely circulated in text messages and over the internet. Most Rajinikanth "facts" are said to be lifted from Chuck Norris facts. These satirical jokes have also inspired an iPad application. It has been reported that the first biography of the actor will be launched by Penguin Books on 12 December 2012, coinciding with his 62nd birthday. Rajinikanth is the only actor who became a chapter in the lesson for CBSE syllabus titled ‘From Bus Conductor to Superstar’ which comes under the category Dignity of Work.

Personal life

Family

Rajinikanth married Latha Rangachari on 26 February 1981, at the age of 31 in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. The couple have two daughters named Aishwarya Rajinikanth and Soundarya Rajinikanth. His wife, Latha Rajinikanth, currently runs a school named "The Ashram". His elder daughter, Aishwarya, married actor Dhanush on 18 November 2004 and they have two sons named Yathra and Linga. His younger daughter, Soundarya, works in the film industry as a director, producer and graphic designer. She married industrialist Ashwin Ramkumar on 3 September 2010.

Religious views

Rajinikanth is a follower of Hinduism, spiritualism, and a strong believer of spirituality. As a reader, he also enjoys books on such topics. He is also a practitioner of yoga and meditation. Rajinikanth is known for visiting temples prior to the release of each of his films; for instance he visited the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple before the release of Sivaji in 2007 and visited Sathya Sai Baba at Prasanthi Nilayam in Andhra Pradesh before the release of Kuselan the following year. He also occasionally leaves for pilgrimage to the Himalayas. He has often referred to Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Swami Satchidananda, Ragavendra Swami, Mahavatar Babaji, and Ramana Maharishi as his favourite spiritual leaders.

Social work and 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) for the [[Tamil Nadu legislative assembly election, 1996|asseliance. 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. Rajnews|url=http://www.dinakaran.com/cinema/english/highlights/01-01-99/yearhig2.htm |title=Tamil Cinema 1998-Year Highlights (Part-2) |publisher=Dinakaran |date=21 January 1998 |accessdate=23 September 2009|archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20080620181502/http://www.dinakaran.com/cinema/english/highlights/01-01-99/yearhig2.htm |archivedate = 20 June 2008,}}</ref>

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 ₹1 crore (US$120,000) toward a plan to interlink 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), organised 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".

Later in 2004, Rajnikanth said he would personally vote for the BJP but would not extend his support to any front. The alliance was completely thrashed in the election and did not even win a single seat out of the 39 seats for Tamil Nadu in the Lok Sabha.

During the 2008 hunger strike organised by SIFAA against Karnataka's stance on the Hogenakkal Falls 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 hardline Kannada activist and leader of the Kannada Chaluvali Vatal 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. This was also echoed by other pro-Kannada organisations such as the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike. In an effort to save the economy of Tamil cinema in Karnataka and ensure welfare of Tamil Nadu-based filmmakers, Rajinikanth made a brief media appearance on the news channel TV9 Kannada and clarified his speech, issuing an apology for his statements. Following the release of Kuselan in Karnataka, Rajinikanth thanked the Kannada film industry for allowing the release of the film and lifting the ban. Fellow Tamil actors R. Sarathkumar, Sathyaraj and Radha Ravi condemned the apology, calling it a "disgrace to Tamilians" and stating that "there was no need for him to apologise as his speech never provoked the sentiments of Kannadigas or the Kannada film industry".

Local fan associations of Rajinikanth in Tamil Nadu continuously speculated his entry in politics. In this regard, a few fans in Coimbatore began a political party in 2008 for Rajinikanth, in an attempt to pressure his entry. The party was named the Desiya Dravadar Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (DDMMK), introducing its own flag and symbol for the party. After learning about this, Rajinikanth wrote an open letter to the media and declared that he had no connection with these events and warned fans not to indulge in such activities and that he would take legal action if they failed to adhere. He also mentioned that he was not interested in politics and thus, was only committed to working in films. He added that nobody can force him to enter politics, just as no one can stop him from entering it. Later that year, Rajinikanth took part in the SIFAA-organized one-day hunger strike with other Tamil film personalities, demanding the government of Sri Lanka to stop the civil war and to provide Sri Lankan Tamils their rights and traditional land in the island nation. The hunger strike was responsible for sparking a series of protests in different parts of the world for the same cause. In 2010, Rajinikanth supported actor Ajith Kumar, who spoke against the forceful inclusion of Tamil cinema personae in political affairs, which broke into a controversy.

Later in 2011, Rajinikanth announced his support for the anti-corruption movement led by Gandhian Anna Hazare. He even offered his marriage hall, Raghavendra Kalyana Mandapam in Chennai free of cost for the India Against Corruption members to hold their fast.

Awards and honours

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Rajinikanth

Rajinikanth has received numerous awards for many of his films mostly in Tamil. He received his first Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Actor in 1984 for Nallavanuku Nallavan. Later he received Filmfare Award nominations for his performances in Sivaji (2007) and Enthiran (2010). Rajinikanth also received Tamil Nadu State Film Awards in the Best Actor category for his roles in Muthu (1995), Padayappa (1999), Chandramukhi (2005), and Sivaji (2007). He also received numerous awards from Cinema Express and Filmfans' Association for his on-screen performances and off-screen contributions in writing and producing.

Rajinikanth received the Kalaimamani award in 1984 and the M. G. R. Award in 1989, both from the Government of Tamil Nadu. In 1995, the South Indian Film Artistes' Association presented him with the Kalaichelvam Award. He was named and honoured with the Padma Bhushan award, India's third highest civilian honour, in 2000 from the Government of India. He was selected as the Indian Entertainer of the Year for 2007 by NDTV, competing against the likes of Shahrukh Khan. The Government of Maharashtra honoured him with the Raj Kapoor Award the same year. He received the Chevalier Sivaji Ganesan Award for Excellence in Indian Cinema at the 2010 ceremony of the Vijay Awards. Rajinikanth was also 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. In 2011, he was awarded the Entertainer of the Decade Award by NDTV for the year 2010 by the then Indian Minister for Home Affairs P. Chidambaram.

See also

References

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Bibliography

Further reading

External links

Portals:

Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Actor
1972–1989
1990–2009
2010–2019
Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor
1967–1980
1981–2000
2001–present

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