Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Super Star - Profile
Rao Gaekwad on December 12, 1950 in Banglore, Karnataka, India)[2][1] is one of the most influential and bankable movie stars in Indian cinema. Rajinikanth's mass popularity and appeal is largely drawn from his mannerisms and stylized delivery of dialogue. He received India's third highest honour, the Padma Bhushan, for his contribution to Indian cinema.[3] Apart from his film career, he is a well known philanthropist and also serves as a notable political influence. Other than acting, Rajinikanth worked as a screenwriter, film producer and also a playback singer.
Popularly referred to and credited in films as superstar and fondly called as thalaivar (meaning leader in Tamil), Rajinikanth debuted as an actor in 1975 under the direction of K. Balachander in supporting roles. He was later favored in portraying antagonistic characters and gradually rose to acting in lead roles. Being a well known film artist to several regional film industries of India, he also appeared in the cinemas of other nations, including Hollywood. He was reportedly paid Rs.26 crores (about $6.25 million USD) for his latest blockbuster Sivaji: The Boss,[4] making him the highest paid actor in Asia after Jackie Chan in 2006.[5]
Popularly referred to and credited in films as superstar and fondly called as thalaivar (meaning leader in Tamil), Rajinikanth debuted as an actor in 1975 under the direction of K. Balachander in supporting roles. He was later favored in portraying antagonistic characters and gradually rose to acting in lead roles. Being a well known film artist to several regional film industries of India, he also appeared in the cinemas of other nations, including Hollywood. He was reportedly paid Rs.26 crores (about $6.25 million USD) for his latest blockbuster Sivaji: The Boss,[4] making him the highest paid actor in Asia after Jackie Chan in 2006.[5]
[edit] Career
He joined the Madras Film institute in 1973 , a fellow bus driver and completed a basic course in acting. In the film institute he was helped by his Vice Principal A. Prabhakaran.[10] [11]
Rajinikanth has acted in a total 173 movies, which includes Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, English and Bengali films. Rajinikanth made a foray into Bollywood with Andha Kanoon but did not make as much of an impact as he had in the south. He still appeared a few films in Hindi, such as 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. However, the movie failed in the United States. 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 a huge Japanese fan-following for Rajni. In 2005, his film Chandramukhi was dubbed in German and released in all German-speaking nations.
[edit] Debut and rise: 1975-1979
Rajinikanth has acted in a total 173 movies, which includes Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, English and Bengali films. Rajinikanth made a foray into Bollywood with Andha Kanoon but did not make as much of an impact as he had in the south. He still appeared a few films in Hindi, such as 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. However, the movie failed in the United States. 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 a huge Japanese fan-following for Rajni. In 2005, his film Chandramukhi was dubbed in German and released in all German-speaking nations.
[edit] Debut and rise: 1975-1979
[edit] Gaining popularity: 1980-1988
Rajinikanth (left) with Brett Stimely in the film Bloodstone (1988).
During this phase of his career when he was reaching dazzling heights, Rajinikanth abruptly chose to quit acting, but was coaxed back.[13] He started again with Billa, which was a remake of the blockbuster bollywood movie Don. With its phenomenal success he was accepted as a full-fledged hero. Billa was followed by a row of hits like Murattukaalai, Pokkiri Raja, Thanikattu Raja, Naan Mahaan Alla, Pudukavithai[14] and Moondru Mugam. K. Balachander’s first home production, Netrikan proved to be yet another milestone in Rajini’s career. . He even acted as himself alongside Meena, who was a child actor then, in the movie Anbulla Rajinikanth (1984). More box-office hits dominated the 80's with Padikkathavan, Thee, Velaikaran, Dharmathin Thalaivan, Mr. Bharath, and Maaveeran.[15] In his 100th movie, Sri Raghavendra, he played the Hindu saint Raghavendra Swami.
[edit] The superstar decade: 1989-1999
[edit] Indulging in politics: 2002
The new millennium began very well for Rajinikanth; Padayappa had rewritten previous box office records. Finally, after more than a three year sabbatical from cinema, at 52 years of age, he starred in his home production, Baba, which released on August 15, 2002 amidst much fanfare and extreme hype. The film failed miserably to meet the expectations due to a very weak screenplay, which Rajinikanth himself had written, his second stint at screenplay writing after Valli. The thin screenplay revolved around the story about a gangster who later engages in spirituality and when compared to his previous film, Padayappa, it was a colossal disappointment. Although the film grossed enough to cover its budget, it was viewed as a tremendous loss when compared to his previous box office successes throughout his career. It fell short of market expectations and the high bids reportedly translated to heavy losses for the distributors. Rajinikanth himself repaid the losses incurred by the distributors.[19][20] Rajinikanth reported that he was going to retire from acting, hence he later took part in other political activities.
[edit] Making milestones: 2005-present
After the Baba debacle, Rajinikanth mulled over numerous scripts with many directors, including K.S. Ravikumar, and finally chose to act in director P. Vasu's Tamil remake of Manichithrathazhu, Chandramukhi. Many people within the industry had written Rajinikanth off after the Baba fiasco, essentially saying "the bloom was off the rose" and that "the gold does not glitter anymore".[21] In essence, many viewed Chandramukhi as Rajinikanth's comeback film, his make or break movie and in the end, when it was released on April 14, 2005, it went on to create new box office records and smashed his own previous records and once and for all removed any doubt within the industry with regards to Rajinikanth's box office clout and incomparable appeal to the masses.[22] Just after Chandramukhi release, it was reported that AVM Productions were to produce a film directed by S. Shankar starring Rajinikanth, the largest collaboration yet for a Tamil film. The film was titled Sivaji: The Boss and released on June 15, 2007 after two years of filming and meticulous production. With massive international anticipation, it subsequently went on to become a major blockbuster, being ranked among other major Bollywood and Hollywood releases of the year. Sivaji became the first Tamil movie to be charted as one of the top-ten best films of United Kingdom and South Africa box-offices upon release[citation needed].
Following Sivaji, Rajinikanth worked with P. Vasu again for Kuselan, a remake of the Malayalam film Kadha Parayumbol, in which Rajinikanth was given only a cameo role. He acted as himself, a superstar in the Indian film industry, and as a best friend to the main character. Kuselan's release was large like all other films of his, including sales of promotional items such as M&M's Kuselan chocolates in the United States and Kuselan trading cards provided in Sunfeast Biscuit packages in India. Despite the mass hype prior to release, the film opened to below average reviews. P. Vasu was also condemned for mentioning Rajinikanth as the hero of the film when he was seen in only a few scenes of the film as a cameo. Critics claimed that Kuselan was a film that taught everyone a lesson of filmmaking. Some distributors incurred major losses due to the film, creating Kuselan's box office results similar to Baba, for which Rajinikanth voluntarily settled with his own budget.[23][24]
[edit] Future projects
During the course of the production for Sivaji, Ocher Studios, the animation company of Rajinikanth's daughter Soundarya Rajinikanth, in association with Adlabs announced their intention of producing a CGI animation film starring an animated version of Rajinikanth. He will be lending his voice to the lead character (based on his likeness) and the project is titled Sultan: The Warrior; it will be directed by his daughter Soundarya Rajinikanth with music provided by A. R. Rahman. The movie is scheduled for a release in 2009. Rajinikanth has also been signed to work with the Sivaji team of S. Shankar and A. R. Rahman once again for another movie, an supposed science fiction thriller tentatively entitled Endhiran. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan will play opposite Rajinikanth as heroine for the first time. The film is touted to be the biggest and costliest film venture yet in India. It is being produced and distributed by Sun Pictures and slated for theatrical release in early 2010.
A. R. Murugadoss had previously shown interest in directing Rajinikanth in his next feature film after Ghajini.[25] It is also said that Rajinikanth had voluntarily wanted to be cast in Pyramid Saimira's next production, in order to compensate for the colossal flop of Kuselan.[26]
[edit] Awards and honours
Rajinikanth was named as one of the influential persons in South Asia by Asiaweek.[27] He has won a Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award for the film Nallavanuku Nallavan in 1984.[28] Rajinikanth, despite these awards, has not yet received a National Film Award.
Between 1977 and 2005, Rajinikanth received several awards from Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, Filmfare Awards, Cinema Express, and Filmfans Association for his on-screen performances and off-screen contributions in writing and producing. He has received awards in the Best Actor category for his performance in the films Sivaji, Chandramukhi, Padayappa, Peddarayudu, Baasha, Muthu, Annamalai, Thalapathy, Velaikaran, Sri Raghavendra, Nallavanuku Nallavan, Moondru Mugam, Enkeyo Ketta Kural, Aarilirunthu Arubathu Varai, Mullum Malarum and 16 Vayathinile. He received an award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Bhuvana Oru Kelvi Kuri. He has also received awards in Best Story Writer and Best Producer categories for Valli.
He has also received other honours such as Raj Kapoor Award in 2007 from the Government of Maharashtra, and honoured with award, Padma Bhushan, in 2000[3] from Government of India. In September 2007, Rajinikanth won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor for his role in the film Chandramukhi. Recently, he was selected as the Indian Entertainer of the Year for 2007 by NDTV, competing against the likes of Shah Rukh Khan and Shilpa Shetty.[citation needed]
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)