Latest news with #ShivajiRaoGaekwad
News18
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- News18
Rajinikanth Reveals He Once Worked As A Coolie: ‘Cried For The First Time In My Life'
With Rs 150 crore on Day 1, Coolie has become the highest-opening Tamil film ever. Rajinikanth's latest film Coolie has arrived in theatres, and celebrations have taken over across the country as fans are once again witnessing the unmatched aura of Thalaivar. Yet, beyond the frenzy and fanfare, the film holds a deeply personal significance for the superstar. It is known that Rajinikanth once worked as a bus conductor before stepping into the world of cinema. What many may not know, however, is that he also briefly worked as a coolie. Decades later, life comes full circle as he embodies that very role in Coolie, a story about a former union leader who takes on a corrupt syndicate. At a recent promotional event, the superstar left fans and his team deeply moved as he recalled a memory from those early years 'Father Asked To Work As A Coolie" Rajinikanth was born as Shivaji Rao Gaekwad in Karnataka. His father was a police constable, while his mother was a homemaker. After his mother's passing, he spent time in an ashram where he acted in plays. Later, he worked briefly as a coolie. Recalling the incident, Rajinikanth said, 'My father once strictly ordered me to work as a coolie, lifting sacks. I said, 'Okay.' I loaded three sacks onto a handcart and set off. What was supposed to be a quick 500-meter trip turned into a 1 to 1.5 km haul. Because an accident had caused a traffic diversion." 'No Easy Task" He went on to describe how difficult the task became, stating, 'Balancing those sacks was no easy task. The road was full of lorries, buses, and cars, and every bump or pothole threatened my load. At one point, I lost balance — a sack tumbled down. People yelled at me from all sides. Bus passengers shouted, random bystanders questioned, 'Why are you bringing this on the road? Who gave you this handcart?' I suppose I looked too skinny to be doing the job." Still, he picked up the sack, pushed through and somehow reached his destination. 'Cried For First Time In My Life" Even after completing the work, he faced another challenge. 'My uncle told me, 'Three sacks came — load them into the tempo.' I said, 'Okay,' and did it. Then I asked for the money," he recalled. 'The man handed me Rs 2 and said, 'Keep this as a tip!' I recognised the voice — it was Muniswamy, my college mate, the same guy I used to tease. He looked at me and said, 'You acted so big, and now look at you!' Leaning on those sacks, I cried. That was the first time in my life I cried," the actor added. Coolie Creates History Directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, Coolie also features Nagarjuna, Shruti Haasan, Soubin Shahir and Upendra with a special cameo by Aamir Khan. The film has already created history at the box office. With massive advance bookings, early estimates confirm that Coolie grossed around Rs 150 crore worldwide on its opening day, which makes it the highest-opening Tamil film ever. First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
BBC News
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Coolie: 50 Years of Rajinikanth, India's bus conductor turned superstar
Longevity in show business is a tricky Indian superstar Rajinikanth, 50 years in films isn't just about survival - it's about an unbroken reign, turning cinemas into temples and audiences into devotees. Most of his work has been in the thriving Tamil-language film industry, where his films have defined 1975, a young Shivaji Rao Gaekwad - soon to be known to the world as Rajinikanth - walked on to a Madras (now Chennai) film set for Apoorva Raagangal, debuting in a brief but memorable role as a swaggering five decades and 170 films on, Rajinikanth's new film, Coolie, released on 14 August. It celebrates his journey with a story that, in parts, mirrors his own life. He plays a working-class hero taking on a wealthy, oppressive 74-year-old superstar is a phenomenon - worshipped in temples built for him, his image carried on airplanes during film promotions, and adored in distant Japan with the passion usually reserved for local story is that of an outsider who became Indian cinema's most beloved insider - a working-class hero whose appeal cuts across language, class, and geography. His life is an extraordinary rags-to-riches journey - from crippling poverty to unmatched superstardom - earning him the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India's highest cinematic honour, and the Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian millions of fans and some 50,000 fan clubs, this anniversary is another occasion to celebrate their them, he is a demigod, his idolisation of mythical proportions. "Gods have to appear in somebody's form," says A Rajendran, an ardent fan."Rajinikanth has the power that makes us look up at him." Naman Ramachandran, author of Rajinikanth: A Definitive Biography, notes that Rajinikanth's fans range from Wall Street bankers to washerwomen in Tamil Nadu. His on-screen magic lies in portraying the underdog's dream: to beat the odds without losing one's humanity, writes Ramachandran.A 2015 documentary on the superstar called For the Love of a Man by Rinku Kalsy and Joyojeet Pal captured the depth of this fervour - of fans mortgaging homes, selling family gold, and treating film releases as once-in-a-lifetime festivals."This isn't fandom," Kalsy explained, "it's identity. He represents what they aspire to be - humble, moral, yet powerful when it matters."His home in Chennai has become a shrine for thousands of fans seeking a glimpse, a blessing, or the naming of a newborn. In 2016, AirAsia airline unveiled an aircraft emblazoned with his face to mark his film, Kabali's release; a symbol that his image could carry a film across the often spills into social work by his fan clubs organising blood donation camps, relief drives, community events in his name. As Aishwarya Rajinikanth writes in her book Standing on an Apple Box: "My father never ever behaves like a superstar at home… except in his movies."Rajinikanth's fan culture also blurs cinema and film release becomes a ritualised spectacle. As a rookie reporter, I often witnessed the frenzied brotherhood at first day, first-show screenings: coins tossed at the screen, camphor burnt, flowers showered, cut-outs doused in milk, fans screaming his name. Watching a Rajinikanth movie is less a screening than a carnival that is a heady mix of street cred, working-class pride, communal revelry and delirious three hours of superhuman justice, humour, romance, and vengeance, cinemas are littered with popcorn like confetti, and fans spill into the streets, whooping with cathartic year, celebrations have reached fever pitch: in Madurai district, a fan has built a temple adorned with over 5,500 posters and photos, offering prayers to an idol of the of four children, Rajinikanth grew up in poverty; his father was a police constable. "When I dropped out of college, my father sent me to work as a coolie [porter]," he recalled. A relative later helped him become a bus conductor.A friend, noticing his passion for theatre, pooled funds to send him to the Madras Film Institute, a state-run film school. At the institute, he was talent spotted by the Tamil filmmaker K Balachander who gave him his first role in stood apart from the fair-skinned, soft-spoken hero archetype of Tamil cinema legends like MG Ramachandran. His dark complexion, rustic drawl and streetwise swagger became integral to his cinematic identity. Part of Rajinikanth's enduring appeal lies in his choice of stories and the range of roles he has began with anti-heroes and villainous roles that won acclaim in films like Apoorva Raagangal, Moondru Mudichu and Pathinaru Vayathinile, and took on morally complex characters in Avargal, Johnny, Mullum Malarum, as well as tragic roles in Bhuvana Oru the 1980 blockbuster Billa, Rajinikanth cemented his status as an action went on to star in hit Tamil films, popular Bollywood films, and even a cameo in the American film the 1990s, he became known for larger-than-life vigilante roles and portrayals of spiritual figures like Sri Raghavendrar and Baba. In 1998, Muthu unexpectedly became a sensation in like Sivaji and Enthiran, where he played a robot, were massive blockbusters, and despite health challenges, his films continued to achieve huge commercial once dismissed Rajinikanth as a mere "Style King," known for his cigarette flicks, sunglass twirls, and punchy dialogues laced with wry humour. Yet the values his characters embody - loyalty, courage, humour, and justice - are timeless and SP Muthuraman, who worked with him in 25 films, attributes his success to "hard work, dedication, goodwill, and responsible behaviour towards co-stars, producers, and distributors".In Tamil Nadu, where many of his film peers have entered politics, Rajinikanth dabbled in the arena but has never launched a party or contested elections. He thus occupies a unique space - never fully a politician, yet always a moral beacon for his historian Theodore Baskaran says that Tamil cinema's greatest stars occupy a space once held by folk deities. More than a celebrity, Rajinikanth's influence shapes the devotion of fans who line up at dawn with milk and garlands. They believe that their swashbuckling hero can add colour to their dreams and magic to their lives.
Hans India
12-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Hans India
A golden- jubilee run for India's most enduring superstar
August 14 will mark a Red-letter day for millions of his fans all over the globe…social media, the barometer of a film's likely success in the first weekend of its release, has already closed its doors to naysayers and toxic critics. Shivaji Rao Gaekwad, known popularly as Superstar Rajinikanth in the country's leading celluloid centres has his 171st film – Coolie - awaiting release two days from now, a tribute to his 50 years saga in Indian cinema in which he was seen in all the four southern language films, apart from Hindi and Bengali. Love him or hate him, one cannot ignore him…that's the current niche of Rajinikanth in Indian cinema. A filmi career, which began with a relatively insignificant role with the 1975 Independence Day release 'Apoorva Ragangal' in Tamil has, five decades later, attained an unmatched global recognition and fame: the stuff of legends, so to say. Unlike many before him and after, who arrived with a bang, shone for a while and went into oblivion, this ordinary-looking hero by conventional standards, started steadily, overtook all his competitors at breakneck speed and stayed put at the top, encountering challenges with a rare survival mantra of his own right from the 1980s. Primarily anchored in the Tamil cinema field, with many of his hit flicks dubbed and remade into other languages, Rajinikanth is what the Tamil media hails 'the eternal entertainer for fans from the ages of six to sixty'; the 'Thalaivar' who reigns supreme. So much so, even after he turned a senior citizen, 15 years ago, his swagger and his solo hero stature continued to endure and was cashed in repeatedly by leading banners of south India. His box-office status may have taken quite a few hard knocks in this period, with the last few releases see-sawing between being declared blockbusters and duds, yet he is a guaranteed box-office winner for those whose faith in him remains unshakeable. And, obviously, there are many still, who believe he can go on for a few years more. A realistic appraisal will reveal that he has cleverly derisked his last few movies by bringing in a fresh crop of stars, heroines, catchy item numbers and adding the regional aura to his venture by including top names from neighbouring film zones other than Bollywood. In his latest flick, he has a retinue of reel titans – Nagarjuna from Telugu, Upendra from Kannada, Soubin Shahir from Malayalam and Aamir Khan coming up with a cameo from Bollywood. Hindi heroes – Akshay Kumar, Nana Patekar, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Amitabh Bachchan – were all part of his earlier releases but the fan only wanted 'his' superstar to dominate and hog the screen till the end. With such a huge hype and exaggerated expectations and calculations about how its potential at the cash counters would turn out to be, the pre-Independence Day weekend is to see solid action, with Hrithik Roshan – Jr NTR film 'War 2' posing a barrier to the earlier anticipated free run of 'Coolie'. With Lokesh Kanagaraj, the hotshot director who has had no failures till now in his decade-long career, the actioner (estimated cost between Rs 350-400 crore) is bound to rake in the moolah to start with, but like all other big budget productions will have to survive vicious social media scrutiny, genuine word-of-mouth feedback and motivated mudslinging to earn its spurs a week later. The toil for the 'Coolie' is just about to begin.
