The Superstar’s Golden Jubilee: Rajinikanth’s 50-Year Journey From Bus Conductor to Cinematic God

In the pantheon of global cinema icons, few figures command the kind of devotion reserved for deities. In Tamil Nadu, India, that figure is Rajinikanth—a man whose five-decade journey through Indian films reads like the ultimate underdog story, complete with temples built in his honor and airplanes bearing his image.

As his latest film “Coolie” hit theaters on August 14, 2024, the 74-year-old superstar marked a milestone that few in show business achieve: 50 years of unbroken cinematic reign. It’s a journey that began in 1975 when a young Shivaji Rao Gaekwad walked onto a Chennai film set for “Apoorva Raagangal,” and has since encompassed 170 films that have transformed cinema halls into places of worship.

From Poverty to Stardom

Rajinikanth’s story defies the typical Bollywood narrative of privilege breeding success. Born one of four children to a police constable father, he grew up in crushing poverty. “When I dropped out of college, my father sent me to work as a coolie [porter],” he once recalled. A relative’s intervention led him to work as a bus conductor—a job that would later become central to his everyman appeal.

The transformation from Shivaji Rao to Rajinikanth came through a friend who recognized his theatrical passion and helped fund his education at the Madras Film Institute. There, filmmaker K. Balachander spotted his talent and cast him in his debut role, launching what would become one of cinema’s most extraordinary careers.

What set Rajinikanth apart from the beginning was his rejection of conventional leading-man aesthetics. In a Tamil cinema landscape dominated by fair-skinned, soft-spoken heroes like M.G. Ramachandran, Rajinikanth’s dark complexion, rustic drawl, and streetwise swagger became his signature. Far from handicaps, these traits became the very essence of his cinematic identity.

Rajinikanth’s career trajectory reveals an artist unafraid of reinvention. He began with anti-hero and villainous roles in films like “Moondru Mudichu” and “Pathinaru Vayathinile,” establishing himself as an actor capable of moral complexity. The 1980 blockbuster “Billa” marked his transition into action hero territory, while later films saw him embodying spiritual figures in “Sri Raghavendrar” and “Baba.”

His international appeal crystallized unexpectedly when “Muthu” became a sensation in Japan in 1998, proving that his charisma transcended cultural boundaries. This global recognition reached new heights with technological spectacles like “Enthiran,” where he played a robot, demonstrating his willingness to embrace cinema’s evolving possibilities.

A Cultural Phenomenon

What distinguishes Rajinikanth from other celebrities is the quasi-religious devotion he inspires. As author Naman Ramachandran notes in “Rajinikanth: A Definitive Biography,” his fans range from Wall Street bankers to washerwomen in Tamil Nadu. This isn’t merely celebrity worship—it’s identity formation.

Unlike many Tamil cinema peers who entered politics, Rajinikanth has remained deliberately removed from electoral politics while serving as a moral beacon for millions.

The 2015 documentary “For the Love of a Man” captured fans mortgaging homes and selling family gold to celebrate film releases. As co-director Rinku Kalsy observed, “This isn’t fandom, it’s identity. He represents what they aspire to be—humble, moral, yet powerful when it matters.”

Film releases become ritualized spectacles where audiences shower screens with flowers, burn camphor, and douse cutouts in milk. His Chennai home has become a pilgrimage site where thousands seek blessings and ask him to name their newborns. When AirAsia unveiled an aircraft emblazoned with his face for “Kabali’s” release in 2016, it symbolized how his image could literally carry dreams across the skies.

This devotion translates into social action through fan clubs organizing blood donation camps and relief drives. As his daughter Aishwarya Rajinikanth writes, “My father never ever behaves like a superstar at home… except in his movies.”

The Man Behind the Myth

Critics initially dismissed Rajinikanth as merely a “Style King,” known for cigarette flicks and sunglass twirls. Yet filmmaker S.P. Muthuraman, who directed him in 25 films, attributes his enduring success to “hard work, dedication, goodwill, and responsible behavior towards co-stars, producers, and distributors.”

The values his characters embody—loyalty, courage, humor, and justice—resonate across generations and geographies. Unlike many Tamil cinema peers who entered politics, Rajinikanth has remained deliberately removed from electoral politics while serving as a moral beacon for millions.

Film historian Theodore Baskaran suggests that Tamil cinema’s greatest stars occupy spaces once held by folk deities. In Rajinikanth’s case, this metaphor has become literal reality, with temples built in his honor and fans treating him as a living god.

As Rajinikanth completes his golden jubilee in cinema, his story remains that of cinema’s ultimate outsider-turned-insider. He has earned India’s highest cinematic honor, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, and the Padma Vibhushan, the nation’s second-highest civilian award.

Yet perhaps his greatest achievement lies in proving that authenticity trumps conventional appeal. In an industry often obsessed with image, Rajinikanth’s power stems from representing the underdog’s dream—beating the odds without losing one’s humanity.

For the 50,000 fan clubs celebrating this milestone, and the millions who line up at dawn with milk and garlands at each film release, Rajinikanth represents something transcendent. As devoted fan A. Rajendran explains, “Gods have to appear in somebody’s form. Rajinikanth has the power that makes us look up at him.”

After 50 years and 170 films, the bus conductor who became a superstar continues to add color to dreams and magic to lives—proving that some stories are too extraordinary for fiction, requiring the grandest stage of all: real life.