Birthday Greetings to the most celebrated actor Rajinikanth, who turned 67 years today.

Rajinikanth, who has wowed movie goers across all age groups for four decades turned 67 years today.

The actor, who was born as Shivaji Rao Gaekwad, born on December 12, 1949 in Karnataka. Shone like a bright star in the world of cinema with his impeccable acting talent and distinctive style sense. He wasn’t born into privilege and doesn’t possess traditionally good looks, yet he has captured audiences of all ages and background around the world, in a career that spans decades.

Rajinikanth with his wife Latha and daughter Soundarya.

He was a bus conductor during which time he reportedly caught the fancy of the bus travelers with his mannerisms and style of issuing tickets and blowing the whistle and so on. Looking to become an actor, he moved to Chennai and joined the film institute. It was here that he caught the eye of K. Balachander, a director known for introducing talented, new faces into the Tamil film industry.

Balachander gave him a small role as the no-good husband of Srividya in Aboorva Raagangal and the rest, as they say, is history. Rajnikanth soon graduated to playing villains and his style, swagger and casually unique brand of villainy vowed the movie-going public. Be it the sadistic husband of Sujatha in Avargal (1977) or the wolf in sheep's clothing in Moondru Mudichu (1976) or the lust-filled village rowdy in Bharathiraja's 16 Vayadhinile, Rajnikanth was the villain the people loved to hate.

From here, it was a small step for Rajni, playing the anti-hero and finally, the hero in Bhairavi. Rajnikanth firmly captured the vacant, action-hero slot in Tamil movies with a series of movies where he routinely bashed up the bad guys who had done him injustice in one way or the other. Once in a while he did movies like Aarulirundhu Arubadhu Varai or Johny which gave us glimpses of his acting potential. But action was what the fans expected from a Rajni movie and action was what he gave them. He has been superstar for the past 25 years.

Rajinikanth is, arguably, the most adored superstar in the country today. Critics choose their words carefully when writing about him and his films. He is the ideal hero who loves his mother and would not look at any woman other than his heroine. It is this celluloid image that has earned Rajinikanth the reputation of the ultimate hero, the ultimate gentleman.

There are good Rajini films. There are great Rajini films. And then, there’s Baasha. The story of an ordinary autorickshawallah with a past — one in which he was a dreaded don — hit screens on Pongal day, twenty two years ago. And it still finds viewers whenever it is screened on TV. Ask any Rajini fan, and he/she would tell you that Baasha is unforgettable.