Date of Birth: 12 December 1950

Birth Place: Bangalore, Mysore

Occupation: Actor, Produce

Spouse: Latha Rangachari

Debut film: Apoorva Raagangal (Tamil)

Superstar Rajinikanth was born as Shivaji Rao Gaekwad in a Maratha family in Karnataka. He was the fourth child of his parents, Jijabai and Ramojirao Gaekwad, a police constable. He lost his mother at the age of eight. He attended the Government Model Primary School at Gavipuram, Bangalore, where he had his elementary education in Kannada. He also studied at the Acharya Paathshala in Basavanagudi, Bangalore and then at the Vivekananda Balaka Sangha.

Before entering in entertainment world, he worked in various jobs in Bangalore. He also attended a theatre for stage plays. He used to practice stunts at the Rama Hanuman Temple at a hill near his house. He then primarily worked as a bus conductor for the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation in Bangalore.

He joined the Madras Film institute in 1973, he started off his acting career in cinema through the Tamil movie Apoorva Raagangal. Rajinikanth has acted in more than 190 movies, which includes Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, English and Bengali films. He debuted in Bollywood with Andha Kanoon and later in movies like Chaalbaaz with Sridevi, Uttar Dakshan, Geraftaar and Hum. He made his Hollywood debut with the movie Bloodstone in 1988 with much fanfare in India at the time of its release. He also made brief stints in German and Japanese film industries. His film Muthu was dubbed into Japanese and later turned out to become a major hit in the country, ultimately creating huge Japanese fan-following for Rajni.