Rajinikanth turns 65: A look at superstar’s Top 10 roles
On superstar Rajinikanth’s 65th birthday, we take a trip down memory lane and reminisce about his best-played characters that hold a special place in our hearts.
Billa (1980): A remake of the 1978 Amitabh Bachchan starrer, ‘Don’, ‘Billa’ had Rajinikanth playing a powerful mafia don. The film featured Rajinikanth in a double role and went on to become the actor’s first-ever commercial success.
Geraftaar (1985): Though Rajinikanth made a guest appearance in ‘Geraftaar’ as Inspector Hussein, the film went on to become a major box office hit. While Rajini played the extended cameo, Amitabh Bachchan and Kamal Haasan played the leads.
Johnny, 1980: Directed by Mahendran, ‘Johnny’ featured Rajinikanth in a double role – a con artist and another a barber. The film also had actress Sridevi who played Rajinikanth’s love interest in the film.
- Thalapathi, 1991: Rajinikanth joined hands with Mani Ratnam for ‘Thalapathi’, in which he played the role of an abandoned teenager who grows up to be a slum lord. The film, which was heavily inspired from the Sanskrit epic, Mahabharata, also starred Malayalam superstar Mammooty.
- Muthu (1995): The following year, Rajinikanth once again appeared in a double role for K.S. Ravikumar’s ‘Muthu’. It was the first Tamil film to be dubbed into Japanese, as ‘Mutu: Odoru Maharaja’. The film grossed a record $ 1.6 million in Japan in 1998 and was hugely responsible for creating a large Japanese fan-base for Rajinikanth.
- ‘Muthu’ was also the first Rajinikanth film to have music by composer AR Rahman.
- Baasha (1995): Rajinikanth’s character of a humble auto driver is one of his most remembered roles especially for its dialogues and mannerisms. ‘Baasha’, which is an adaptation of Amitabh Bachchan starrer ‘Hum’ is the film that raised Rajinikanth from being just another popular actor, earning him the status of a demigod.
