The 1 Man I Look Up to- Thalaivar!

 The world knows him- Rajnikanth.

Starting life as a bus conductor in Bangalore was not easy for our Rajnikanth, who was born as Shivaji Rao Gaekwad, in a  Maharashtrian family. At the age of 26, he entered the Tamil cinema, as Rajnikanth. Ultimately, he became SUPERSTAR! Indians all over the world knows him. He was made even famous by Shah Rukh Khan(a very famous Bollywood actor) made a song of Ranjikanth in his latest movie, Chennai Express. You can always watch the video of the song Lungi Dance in Youtube.

(A picture of ShahRukh in Lungi Dance)

Rajnikanth, who is also called as Thalaivar by his fans (And I'm one of them). 
Thalaivar defines the term of a leader and/or a ruler. One of the best feelings that I have felt in my life is when I shout “thalaivaa!!” during his mere presence in the big screen. One can’t express it in words. “Thalaivar padam na first day first show!”( When it is our "Thalaivar's movie{referring to Rajnikanth} it should dfinitely be first day, first show and there is no exception) One rule that is never broken. The whole experience, from standing in the queue before the film to coming out of the theater shouting “thalaivaa!!“, is a memorable experience which cannot be experienced in any other occasion.

He initially played supporting actor roles or as a villain, and grew to a hero, mostly owing to his punchline dialogues which quickly became popular. The way he said something as simple as, "How is it?" or his action of "tossing the cigar into his mouth from a fair distance, also at times taking a burning cigar into his fully closed mouth, and taking it back out" have been landmarks of style definition in Tamil cinema. The way Rajinikanth walked or curled his hair will always be remembered by his fans. Physics defying action and style sequences were common-place, which in recent times have led to viral 'Chuck Norris' style jokes in India.

Every house will have at least one person who is a fan of Rajinikanth. From 5 year old children to 80 year old grandpas and grandmas, Rajinikanth has his fans in all ages. This itself is a proof of his domination of Indian cinema for generations. As one of his famous songs says, “Superstar yaaru nu ketta chinna kuzhanthaiyum sollum” (Even a small kid knows who Superstar is), it is very hard to find a person who is not aware of Rajinikanth.

In India, Rajinikanth movies were opened with huge celebration. His most fanatic fans would burst crackers, break coconuts and do pooja in the theatres. Many would distribute free sweets. And, folks would even travel to their native places to catch the first show amidst a lot of struggle and fights. Folks cried when he cried and laughed when he laughed, and would never tolerate him getting beaten up. Sequences where Rajinikanth would initially tolerate 3 hits humbly and then show off by hitting everyone else without getting hit even once, or by jumping in the air on top opponents without stepping on the ground, were gloriously popular.

Since he rose to fame, Rajinikanth's movies are all titled with Rajinikanth's character, almost with no exceptions - Muthu, Annamalai, Arunachalam, Sivaji, .... It is as if, no other film name can fit them better.

In case anyone is wondering, Rajnikanth's best movie which transformed him from a superstar to a God-Like figure in the Tamil Movie Industry was Baasha- where Rajnikanth  acted the role of Manick Baasha who is a n underground don.

Why is he loved by so many people?

1) His style- He has one of a kind style which can make any woman fall in love with it. My personal favourite was Padayappa, and it was I think my first movie of Thalaivar that I have watched. My reaction when I watched it was "WHAT A MAN?!?!"

2)His good heartedness- Rajnikanth, a man with the net worth of $40 million promised to donate most his wealth to charities after his death and even now he donates 50% of his income to charity, according to his best friend Raja Badhar.

3)His simplicity- young actors now drive Audi, BMW, Mercedes, but our Thalaivar drives Primer Padmini, which cost lesser than an Ipod Classic. If he wants, he can afford anything he wants, but, he is still the down-to-earth Sivaji Rao we know. There were also stories saying that ShahRukh gifted Rajni sir a BMW 7 series but our Thalaivar did not accept it- but I'm not very sure about the source.

4)His spiritual life- Rajni sir 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

5) His inspiring life story- Rajni sir can be anyone's motivation. Till the age of 25, Sivaji Rao was only a bus conductor. He has inspired me- Life will never settle to one, until you are not settled. Whenthere is a will, there is a way. Rajnikanth will always be a Thalaivar, because, of his will power and his kindheartedness. He is also proved that age cannot be the reason to stop your passion. His passion is films and he is still the second highest paying actor in Asia, after Jackie Chan though he is 64 this year.

6) Status between the Indians- Demi god- Rajnikanth has a cult status and following in India. While super stars in South are immortalized, Rajnikanth perhaps tops the list. It is not unusual for a star like Rajnikanth to have a temple built for him where he is worshipped and idolized. He's given the same respect that gods are given in India. What more needs to be said?

So, yeah, this is the man I look up to. What a man he is? Sivaji Rao, better known as Rajnikanth and who is called Thalaivar by most of his fans.

I love u Thalaivar.

Thanks for reading :D

Till my next post, Cheers!

BrokenSpecs~