50 years of Rajinikanth: Inside the Adyar house where the Superstar's debut, ‘Apoorva Raagangal', was shot

The Hindu

3 days ago

Exactly 50 years ago, an anxious young actor stood outside the gate of a bungalow in Adyar, Madras. The shoot required him to push open the gate and stride inside.
It was a low-angle shot that the film's director, K Balachander, had envisioned for this particular sequence, and it took the actor, then a newbie trying to find his feet in Tamil cinema, more than five takes to get it right. It was his first shot for the big screen, and pushing the gate would — quite literally — mark his entry into Tamil films.
That actor is none other than Rajinikanth, and the film, Apoorva Raagangal (released on August 18, 1975).
Cut to 2025, and the 'Superstar', as Rajinikanth is widely called by fans, is awaiting the release of his upcoming film, Coolie, directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj.
August 2025 not only marks Coolie's release. It also marks 50 years of actor Rajinikanth.
The residence
Fifty years since Rajinikanth shot for Apoorva Raagangal, that house in Adyar still stands, and is in pristine condition. The place where the actor delivers his first lines ('Bhairavi veedu idhane'?), where he gets atop a parked scooter and the trees in the backdrop... they are all very much there, reminiscent of a day that would go on to change the fate of Tamil cinema for good.
Unfortunately, the gate that Rajinikanth pushes in the film was replaced by a modern design 10 years ago by its current owners. But, everything else in the house remains the same as it did in the 1975 film, which was also the first time Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan (the hero of the film) share screen space.
Directed by the late legendary filmmaker K Balachander, Apoorva Raagangal will be remembered by some Tamil cinema fans as a complex take on relationships. But many fans will also remember it to be the introduction of Rajinikanth, a man who came from humble beginnings and went on to become one of the biggest superstars in the country.
While the film focussed on Kamal Haasan, Major Sundararajan, Srividya and Jayasudha, Rajinikanth's dramatic cameo in the climax made heads turn. As K Balachander is quoted in writer Naman Rachandran's book, Rajinikanth: The Definitive Biography, 'When I introduced him in Apoorva Raagangal, it was a small role but people would remember him because he comes in the climax. So I thought I'll give this particular role to him.'
But it was no cakewalk for conductor-turned-actor Shivaji Rao Gaekwad, as Rajinikanth was then known before K Balachander decided to re-christen him. He reportedly took tips from popular comedian Nagesh, who also had a short role in the film, to ape the director's off-screen explanation of the scene to get rid of his nervousness.
Rajinikanth has made massive strides since his first day of shoot in this Adyar house — which was on a Thursday (March 27, 1975). His on-screen persona and style has fetched him millions of fans across the globe. Today, he owns a residence at the posh neighbourhood of Poes Garden but one of his unfulfilled dreams is purchasing that house where he first stood as a young actor. In an interview to Zee Tamil during the promotions of director Shankar's 2.0 in 2018, the actor stated, 'I have been to that house in Adyar quite a few times after I made it big. I wanted to buy it. It did come up for sale but before we could proceed, someone else purchased it.'
The current owners of the property, who purchased the house in 1979, are well aware of the rich cinematic history associated with their residence and have thus made very few changes to how it was 50 years ago. But they also request anonymity and privacy – as they are a little wary of Rajinikanth fans landing up at their doorstep unannounced.