There are several movie stars who have become the icons of the industry. Their names are no longer colloquial but synonymous with success. Casually called as superstars, there is only one name which comes to mind when we think of a South superstar – Rajinikanth. With a stellar year at the box office this year with Coolie, he turned 75 earlier this week.
While his illustrious career turned 50, the Tamil mega star has acted in several films across languages and set a global precedent in his name. Born Shivaji Rao Gaekwad, it was only after tumultuous years of keeping acting on the back burner that Rajinikanth was born. After reportedly losing his mother at the age of nine, Shivaji completed his education and took odd jobs to support himself. Popularly known to have worked as a bus conductor with the Bangalore Transport Service, an Express report also revealed that he had also worked as a coolie and carpenter.
How Shivaji Rao became Rajinikanth
Shivaji Rao didn’t begin acting until the 1970s and was comfortable with a stable paycheck at the government job. However, acting had been a quiet dream. But an expected encounter with a stranger potentially changed his life.
It was on Route 10 A, between Majestic and Srinagar, when he met a driver named Raj Bahadur. It was later that he became one of his closest friends as they bonded over theatre and cinema. Sharing their love for art, they used to watch movies and plays in their free time. The Express report claimed that if it wasn’t for Bahadur, Shivaji Rao would have never become Rajinikanth. However, Shivaji used to act in local plays, and Bahadur soon made it his mission to push him towards pursuing acting as a serious profession.
Speaking to The Hindu, Rajini’s closest friend shared, “The response he got from the audience, particularly when he played Duryodhana and Yechhama Nayaka, the Kannada warrior, was impressive. It was then that I thought he should start acting in movies. But Shivaji was not keen.” He urged Shivaji to join the Madras Film Institute, now the Tamil Nadu Government MGR Film and Television Institute, but young Rajini was fearful.
‘I made him join the institute’
Bahadur revealed that he volunteered to take care of Shivaji’s financial needs and ‘made him join the institute. And, time is the testimony that this wasn’t an empty promise. Raj Bahadur gave Shivaji most of his salary for nearly two years.
This came after Shivaji used to be a coolie and carried heavy luggage for 50 pais at the time. “He struggled a lot, and he doesn’t want to forget it,” Raj Bahadur shared.
It was only years later, when Shivaji Rao had become Rajinikanth and was conferred with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, that he dedicated it all to one person. It was Raj Bahadur, the Bengaluru-based cab driver, who changed his life. However, he also mentioned his mentor K Balachander, who gave him his debut film Apoorva Raagangal (1975), and his brother Sathyanarayana Rao.