Rajinikanth, whose real name is Shivaji Rao Gaikwad, is a famous Indian actor. He is loved for his unique style, powerful screen presence, and famous one-liner dialogues. Rajinikanth has worked in more than 170 movies in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali and Malayalam. He is widely known as one of the most successful and popular actors in the history of Indian cinema.
Rajinikanth started his acting career with Apoorva Raagangal (1975) in Tamil, Katha Sangama (1976) in Kannada, Anthuleni Katha (1976) in Telugu and Andha Kanoon (1983) in Hindi.
In 2017, Rajinikanth announced his entry into politics and formed the Rajini Makkal Mandram (RMM) to take part in the 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly Election. But in July 2021, he dissolved the organisation due to health issues and said he had no future political plans, turning it back into a welfare group for his fans.
The Government of India honoured Rajinikanth with the Padma Vibhushan in 2016 and the Padma Bhushan in 2000. In 2019, he was also awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest honour in Indian cinema.