Shivaji Rao Gaikwad, known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil cinema. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 170 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, and Malayalam. He is widely regarded to be one of the most successful and popular actors in the history of Indian cinema. Known for his uniquely styled lines and idiosyncrasies in films, he has a huge fan base internationally and has a cult following. The Government of India honoured him with Padma Bhushan in 2000, Padma Vibhushan in 2016, India's third and second highest civilian honours, and the highest award in the field of cinema Dadasaheb Phalke Award in the 67th National Film Awards Cermony (2019) for his contributions to Indian cinema.
Muthu (transl. Pearl) is a 1995 Indian Tamil-language masala film written and directed by K. S. Ravikumar, and produced by Kavithalayaa Productions. The film stars Rajinikanth and Meena, with Sarath Babu, Radha Ravi, Senthil, Vadivelu, Jayabharathi, Subhashri and Ponnambalam all acting in supporting roles. It is a remake of the Malayalam film Thenmavin Kombath (1994). The film revolves around a zamindar and his worker falling in love with the same woman who, unknown to the zamindar, loves the worker exclusively.
Padayappa is a 1999 Indian Tamil-language masala film written and directed by K. S. Ravikumar. It stars Rajinikanth in the titlular lead, with Sivaji Ganesan in his penultimate release, Ramya Krishnan and Soundarya sharing other lead roles while, Lakshmi, Radha Ravi, Nassar, Abbas and Preetha play supporting roles. The soundtrack album and background score were composed by A. R. Rahman. The plot revolves around the titular character, Aarupadayappan, and his family being targeted in a generations-long revenge by his cousin Neelambari, a vamp who was left humiliated after Padayappa rejected her love proposal as he was in love with her good-natured home worker Vasundhara.
Baba is a 2002 Indian Tamil-language supernatural action film written and produced by Rajinikanth under his banner Lotus International, directed by Suresh Krissna, with cinematography by Chota K. Naidu. Along with Rajinikanth in the title role and Manisha Koirala in the female lead, the film features an ensemble supporting cast. Amrish Puri makes his appearance in a Tamil for the second and final time after Thalapathi (1991). The original songs and background score were composed by A.R. Rahman.
The Right Brothers were an American conservative band, consisting of Aaron Sain and Frank Highland of Nashville, Tennessee. They received international attention in 2006 for their song "Bush Was Right", which expressed support for President George W. Bush and the Iraq War. The song received international press coverage, including in the United States, Britain, Poland, Switzerland, Argentina, and Denmark.
Annaamalai is a 1992 Indian Tamil-language masala film directed by Suresh Krissna and produced by Kavithalayaa Productions. A remake of the 1987 Hindi film Khudgarz, itself based on Jeffrey Archer's 1979 novel Kane and Abel, it stars Rajinikanth, Khushbu and Sarath Babu with Radha Ravi, Nizhalgal Ravi and Manorama in supporting roles. The film revolves around Annaamalai, a poor milkman, and Ashok, a wealthy hotelier, who have been friends since childhood, a friendship opposed by Ashok's father who attempts to create a rift between the two.
Athisaya Piravi is a 1990 Indian Tamil-language fantasy film directed by S. P. Muthuraman and written by Panchu Arunachalam. It is a remake of the Telugu film Yamudiki Mogudu (1988). The film stars Rajinikanth, Kanaka, and Sheeba Akashdeep, while Nagesh, Jai Ganesh, Chinni Jayanth, Cho Ramaswamy, and Vinu Chakravarthy, among others, play supporting roles. It was released on 15 June 1990, and became a box office failure.
Indian actor Rajinikanth has appeared predominantly in Tamil cinema. He began his film career by playing antagonistic and supporting roles before graduating to a lead actor. After starring in numerous commercially successful films throughout the 1980s and 1990s, he has continued to hold a matinée idol status in the popular culture of Tamil Nadu. Writing for Slate, Grady Hendrix called him the "biggest movie star you've probably never heard of." Rajinikanth has also worked in other Indian film industries such as Hindi, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.
Kochadaiiyaan: The Legend is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language animated period action film written by K. S. Ravikumar and directed by Soundarya Rajinikanth. It is India's first photorealistic motion capture film, featuring characters whose designs were based on the appearance and likeness of their respective actors. The film stars Rajinikanth with Deepika Padukone and Shobana in the lead, Meanwhile R. Sarathkumar, Aadhi Pinisetty, Jackie Shroff, Nassar and Rukmini Vijayakumar had also voiced their respective characters. The narrative follows the quest of an 8th-century warrior who seeks revenge after witnessing the unlawful punishment administered to his father, a good-hearted warrior in his kingdom, by the jealous ruler.
Lingaa is the soundtrack album composed by A. R. Rahman, to the 2014 Indian Tamil film of the same name written and directed by K. S. Ravikumar. The soundtrack album consists of five tracks, out of which, four had lyrics by Vairamuthu while the fifth was written by his son Madhan Karky. According to Rahman, as the film is set in different time zones, the music composed works around these time.
Kabali is a 2016 Indian Tamil-language action drama film written and directed by Pa. Ranjith and produced by Kalaipuli S. Thanu. The film stars Rajinikanth in the title role, with Winston Chao, Radhika Apte, Dhansika, Kishore, Dinesh, Kalaiyarasan, John Vijay, Rosyam Nor, Nassar and Mime Gopi in supporting roles. In the film, Kabali, an aged gangster, who gets released from prison and sets on to exact revenge on his rivals, while also looking for his wife Kumudhavalli and daughter Yogitha.
Shankar Ezhumalai, popularly credited by his moniker King Kong, is an Indian actor and comedian who has appeared in Tamil language films in supporting roles. A clip from the film Adhisaya Piravi (1990), which features King Kong dancing, has become a viral internet video titled Little Superstar.
Sananth is an Indian actor who has worked in Tamil cinema. After initially appearing in several short films, Sananth made his feature film debut in Ajay Gnanamuthu's horror film Demonte Colony (2015).
Kaala (also marketed as Kaala Karikalan; transl. Black) is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language action drama film directed and co-written by Pa. Ranjith and produced by Wunderbar Films. The film stars Rajinikanth in the titular role, alongside Nana Patekar, Eswari Rao, Huma Qureshi, Samuthirakani, Pankaj Tripathi, Anjali Patil, K. Manikandan, Dileepan, Nitish Veera, Sampath Raj and Ravi Kale. The film follows Karikalan "Kaala", the leader of Dharavi, who tries save his land and people from getting seized and evicted by Haridev "Hari Dhadha", a ruthless minister.
"Hey Hey Hey" is a song recorded by American singer Katy Perry for her fifth studio album Witness (2017). It was sent to Italian contemporary hit radio stations on January 12, 2018 by Universal Music Group as the album's fifth single. The song was written by Perry, Sia, Sarah Hudson, Max Martin and Ali Payami, while production was handled by Martin and Payami. "Hey Hey Hey" is a rock- and electronica-influenced, dark electropop track about female empowerment. Reviewers speculated that the song was also about the 2016 United States presidential election nominees Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
Petta (transl. Hood) is a 2019 Indian Tamil-language action drama film directed by Karthik Subbaraj and produced by Kalanithi Maran under Sun Pictures. The film stars Rajinikanth in the titular role, alongside Vijay Sethupathi, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, M. Sasikumar, Simran, Trisha, Megha Akash, Malavika Mohanan, Mahendran, Bobby Simha, Guru Somasundaram, Aadukalam Naren, Munishkanth and Sananth. It follows Kaali, a newly hired hostel warden, who gets dragged to war after an old enemy, Singaaram, resurfaces.
Darbar ( transl. Court) is a 2020 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written and directed by AR Murugadoss, and produced by Allirajah Subaskaran under the banner Lyca Productions. The film stars Rajinikanth, Suniel Shetty, Nayanthara and Nivetha Thomas. It follows Aaditya Arunasalam (Rajinikanth), the commissioner of Mumbai Police, who sets out to curb the city's rampant drug-trafficking and prostitution. When he uncovers a deep controversy linked to an international drug lord, however, he tries to fulfill his secret agenda.
Kabali is the soundtrack album, composed by Santhosh Narayanan for the 2016 Indian Tamil-language action crime film of the same name written and directed by Pa. Ranjith and produced by Kalaipuli S. Thanu, starring Rajinikanth, Radhika Apte and Winston Chao. The soundtrack album featuring five songs with lyrics written by Kabilan, Vivek, Umadevi and Arunraja Kamaraj was released on 12 June 2016, at Chennai and was also released in Telugu, Hindi and Malay languages. Santhosh Narayanan won the Best Music Director Award at the 2017 Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards. Initially, he was nominated for the Best Music Director – Tamil award at the 2017 Filmfare Awards South, along with Arunraja Kamaraj, for Best Lyricist – Tamil, Best Male Playback Singer – Tamil for the song "Neruppu Da". However, Shweta Mohan won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer – Tamil for "Maya Nadhi".
Annaatthe is a 2021 Indian, Tamil-language, action drama film directed and co-written by Siva and produced by Kalanithi Maran under the banner Sun Pictures. The film stars Rajinikanth, Khushbu, Meena, Nayanthara, and Keerthy Suresh; and features Jagapathi Babu, Prakash Raj, and Soori in prominent roles. D. Imman composed the film's music, Vetri handled the cinematography, Dhilip Subbarayan arranged stunts. and Ruben edited the film. It revolves around Kaalaiyan, a sarpanch in Thanjavur who strives to protect his sister from a businessman and his elder brother.
Jailer is a 2023 Indian Tamil-language action comedy film directed by Nelson Dilipkumar and produced by Kalanithi Maran under Sun Pictures. The film stars Rajinikanth in the lead role, alongside Vinayakan, Ramya Krishnan, Vasanth Ravi, Mirnaa Menon, Yogi Babu, Tamannaah Bhatia and Sunil in supporting roles. Mohanlal, Shiva Rajkumar and Jackie Shroff play guest appearances. It revolves around "Tiger" Muthuvel Pandian, a retired jailer, seeking to apprehend an eccentric idol smuggler Varman.
