On November 12, 1950, Shivaji Rao Gaekwad, now Rajinikanth, was born into a middle-class Marathi family in Bengaluru. Despite his inconspicuous beginnings, Shivaji dared to dream and worked hard to realise his ambitions. 

The 71-year-old who is now thought to be one among the best Indian actors of all times, started out with routine roles in plays at the Ramakrishna Math during his teenage years. He also did odd jobs to sustain his family, including that of a bus conductor with the Bangalore Transport Service. 

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It was then that he decided to sign up for an acting course with the newly formed Madras Film Institute. His decision wasn’t initially supported by his family, but a friend urged him on.. 

Rajinikanth made his acting debut in K Balachander’s Tamil drama Apoorva Raagangal in 1975, in which he played an abusive husband. Balachander’s Telugu drama film Anthuleni Katha (1976) gave him his first prominent part, while Moondru Mudichu (1976), directed by Balachander, gave him his debut in Tamil. 

Over the course of his 45-year career, the ‘Thalaiva’ has appeared in over 160 films, mostly in Tamil. He has also worked in Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Bengali films. 

Also read: Rajinikanth is overjoyed as ‘Annaatthe’ crosses Rs. 200 crore at box-office

Here’s a look at the five highest-grossing films of the actor:

Baashha  

This is one of the biggest grossing films ever made in Tamil cinema. Directed by Suresh Krishna, It tells the story of a mobster named Baashha who poses as a  car driver. When Manickam (Rajinikanth) is confronted with a  situation, he resorts to violence and divulges his  identity. Written by Balakumaran, Baashha became an out-and-out money spinner   when it was released in 1995. Other than the plot and performances, the background score by Deva is hugely popular. Last year, a digitally remastered version of Baashha was released.

Padayappa  

Rajinikanth and KS Ravikumar teamed up again after the commercial success of Muthu.  Padayappa became one of the most important hits of Rajinikanth and went on to win five Tamil Nadu State Awards. It was also the final film for iconic actor Sivaji Ganesan. Narasimha, a Telugu  version of the film, was also a box office triumph. Padayappa took three years to surpass the box office records set by the Kamal Haasan-starrer Indian.

Also read: Rajinikanth’s post thanking bus driver Raj Bahadur after Dadasaheb Phalke win goes viral

Chandramukhi  

After taking a sabbatical, Rajinikanth made a formidable comeback with the psychological thriller Chandramukhi, a remake of the Malayalam blockbuster Manichitrathazhu, directed by Fazil. The Tamil version helmed by P Vasu received an incredible response from the audience. The film revolves around a girl struck by a dissociative identity disorder. A psychiatrist, Saravanan (Rajinikanth), arrives to handle the case. The movie had a 1,000-day run in theatres.

Enthiran 

When superstar Rajinikanth’s sci-fi movie ‘Enthiran’ was released in 2010, it shattered box-office records after being filmed for nearly two years on a  budget of over Rs 150 crore. After the success of Sivaji in 2007, it was Rajinikanth’s second collaboration with Shankar. ‘Enthiran’ tells the story of a scientist Vaseegaran (Rajinikanth) with his creation, an Android Robot named Chitti (also Rajinikanth). Things turn nasty when Chitti is infatuated with Vaseegaran’s girlfriend Sana (Aishwarya Rai). Enthiran, like most Rajinikanth’s films, had a fantastic opening weekend at the box office. Critics praised the film for its attempt to reach new heights in filmmaking. It did  business of near Rs 250 crore at the worldwide box-office. 

Kabali  

Over and over again, Rajinikanth has proved that he is one of the largest stars in Indian cinema. This was especially noticeable when the film Kabali was released in 2016. The film marked Rajinikanth’s first collaboration with director Pa Ranjith. The film tracks the story of an ageing gangster slowly coming to terms  with his past and trying to reunite with his family. Kabali opened to  exceptional response from fans across the globe. The picture garnered mixed reviews from critics and the general public, with many blaming the filmmaker for a poor script. Rajinikanth and Radhika Apte (who plays his wife in the film) were praised for their outstanding performances. Kabali became successful at the box office, landing Ranjith another opportunity to direct Rajinikanth in Kaala.