Rajinikanth’s Success Story (Photo Credit – Twitter)
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Thalaiva Rajinikanth is not just a superstar, he is an emotion for his innumerable fans. The path from being a humble bus conductor to one of the biggest superstars of Indian cinema was not easy for him. On his 74th birthday today (December 12), here is revisiting his glorious journey, from contemplating suicide to achieving a mammoth superstardom.
When Rajinikanth Contemplated Suicide
According to a news report in The Times Of India, Rajinikanth had revealed in a Singapore-based event in 1992 about how he had once thought of taking his own life. The megastar remembered witnessing poverty very closely for which he had to do odd jobs, from being an office boy, a bus conductor, a coolie and a carpenter. While he was always strong mentally and took his hardships with a stride, there had come a time in his life wherein he had contemplated suicide. However, a dream about godman Sri Raghavendra changed his mind and he decided to fight all the tribulations life threw at him. As revealed by the superstar, the life-altering dream had the saint calling him across the river and the actor running towards him.
A news report in Republic stated that Rajinikanth whose real name is Shivaji Rao Gaekwad received around Rs 750 with his job as a bus conductor. After doing some stage plays, he got his first acting break in the Tamil film Apoorva Raagangal (1975) wherein he played the antagonist. The movie had people noticing his impressive screen presence after which he played the baddie in other movies like Baalu Jenu, Aval Oru Thodar Kathai, Anthuleni Katha and Katha Sangama. But his first movie as a leading hero was the 1977 film Chilakamma Cheppindi.
After that, his another 1977 film Bhuvana Oru Kelvi Kuri became a huge success. Well, since then there was no turning back for Rajinikanth. His signature sunglass flipping and smoking the cigarette in style became a pop culture rage. After a break for a few years, he made a comeback with the 1980 film Billa which became a blockbuster. With that, he became the undisputed superstar of the Tamil film industry.
And there is no stopping the Rajini storm even in his 70s. His 2023 film Jailer earned more than 600 crore worldwide at the box office within just 22 days of its release. He earned more than 200 crores for the film which included both his remuneration and the profit from the same. Even though his recently released film Vettaiyan could not impress at the box office, he is all set to entice his fans with his upcoming film Coolie which is slated to release next year.
