1975–1977: Early career Rajinikanth began his film career with the Tamil film
Apoorva Raagangal (1975), directed by
K. Balachander. He was cast in a small role as the ex-husband of the female lead played by
Srividya. The film explored
relationships between people with wide age differences and was deemed controversial upon release. However, it received critical acclaim and won three
National Film Awards including the
Award for the Best Tamil Feature at the
23rd National Film Awards in 1976. A review from
The Hindu noted that, "Newcomer Rajinikanth is dignified and impressive." His next release was
Puttanna Kanagal's Kannada
anthology film Katha Sangama (1976). Rajinikanth appeared in the last segment of the film; he played the role as a village ruffian who rapes a blind woman in the absence of her husband. Balachander cast him in a pivotal role in
Anthuleni Katha (1976), the
Telugu remake of his own Tamil film
Aval Oru Thodar Kathai (1974). In
Moondru Mudichuthe first Tamil film to feature him in a prominent rolehe played a character that "blithely row[s] away" when his friend drowns accidentally in the lake only to fulfill his desire to marry the former's girlfriend. His style of flipping the cigarette in the film made him popular among the audience. In his final release of the year,
Baalu Jenu, he was cast as the main antagonist who troubles the female lead. He played similar roles in Balachander's
Avargal (1977), and
Bharathiraja's
16 Vayadhinile (1977). The same year, he made his first-ever appearance as a lead actor in the Telugu film
Chilakamma Cheppindi (1977), which earned him his only nomination for the
Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu.
S. P. Muthuraman experimented Rajinikanth in a positive role in
Bhuvana Oru Kelvi Kuri (1977). The success of the film brought the duo together for 24 more films till the 1990s. It was for this film that he earned the sobriquet "Superstar".
S. Thanu, one of the film's distributors, set up a high cut-out of Rajinikanth. His next appearance
Ilamai Oonjal Aadukirathu, a quadrangular love story written and directed by
C. V. Sridhar, saw him play the role of a man who sacrifices his love for his friend, played by
Kamal Haasan. The film's success prompted Sridhar to remake the film in Telugu,
Vayasu Pilichindi, which retained the original cast of the Tamil film. His next film,
Vanakkatukuriya Kathaliye, had an introductory song to mark his entry, a trend that would soon catch on in with his later films.
Mullum Malarum, released during the same period, received critical acclaim, and earned him his first
Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil nomination. The film marked the directional debut of
Mahendran, with a screenplay adapted from a novel of the same name published in
Kalki. It won the
Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Film and a Special Prize (Best Actor) for Rajinikanth at the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards. Following this, he made a foray into
Malayalam cinema with
I. V. Sasi's fantasy film
Allauddinum Albhutha Vilakkum, which was based on a story from the
Arabian Nights. The same year, he acted in
Dharma Yuddam, in which he played a mentally-ill person avenging the death of his parents. He then co-starred with
N. T. Rama Rao in
Tiger. Upon completion of
Tiger, Rajinikanth had acted in 50 films over a period of four years, and in four languages. Some other popular films released during this period are the youthful entertainer
Ninaithale Inikkum, the Tamil–Kannada bilingual
Priya, the Telugu film
Amma Evarikkaina Amma and the melodrama
Aarilirunthu Arubathu Varai.
Priya, based on a detective novel by
Sujatha, had the distinction of being the first film of Rajinikanth to be shot mostly outside India, mainly in Southeast Asia. A
arilirunthu Arubathu Varai earned him his second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil. Raijinikanth, who credited
Hindi film star
Amitabh Bachchan as his inspiration, began playing Amitabh Bachchan's roles in Tamil remakes of his films. This began with
Shankar Salim Simon (1978), a remake of
Amar Akbar Anthony (1977), followed by
Naan Vazhavaippen (1979), a remake of
Majboor (1974). He was subsequently cast in a series of roles modelled after Amitabh Bachchan in Tamil remakes of his films. as well as a Telugu remake of
Amar Akbar Anthony,
Ram Robert Rahim (1980), alongside
Sridevi. His pairing with
Sridevi continued in
Johnny, where he was once again cast in a double role, earned him his third nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil. He also starred in
Murattu Kaalai which was a commercial success. In 1981, he appeared in
Garjanai which was shot simultaneously in
Kannada and
Malayalam, making it his last film in those two languages up until 2023. In K. Balachander's first home production,
Netrikan, he played dual roles as a womanising father and a responsible son. 1981 also saw the release of
Thee, a remake of blockbuster
Hindi film
Deewaar (1975), also originally written by Salim-Javed and starring Amitabh Bachchan; in
Thee, Rajinikanth reprised the role of Bachchan. In 1982, he starred in
Pokkiri Raja,
Moondru Mugam,
Thanikattu Raja,
Pudukavithai and
Enkeyo Ketta Kural.
Moondru Mugam which starred Rajinikanth playing three different roles for the first time, earned him his fifth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil. By 1983, he was a popular actor across
South Indian cinema, including Telugu and Kannada films. In 1983, Rajinikanth starred in his first
Bollywood film,
Andhaa Kaanoon, alongside
Hema Malini,
Reena Roy and
Amitabh Bachchan (in an extended cameo appearance). The film opened to excellent response from the audience and emerged a blockbuster at the box office. In 1984, he appeared in
Naan Mahaan Alla, a remake of
Subhash Ghai's directional
Vishwanath, the film proved to be a superhit. That same year, he played a small role in
Anbulla Rajinikanth and delivered three more successful
Hindi films,
Meri Adalat,
Gangvaa and
John Jani Janardhan (in which he played a triple role). His performance in
Nallavanuku Nallavan earned him his first and only
Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil. In his 100th film
Sri Raghavendra (1985), he played the Hindu saint
Raghavendra Swami. In 1988, he made his only American film appearance in
Bloodstone, directed by
Dwight Little, in which he played an English-speaking Indian taxi driver. Rajinikanth finished the decade with films including
Rajadhi Raja,
Siva,
Raja Chinna Roja and
Mappillai while also starring in a few
Bollywood productions.
Raja Chinna Roja was the first Indian film to feature
live action and animation.
1990–2010: Superstardom Rajinikanth began the new decade with a mega blockbuster in
Panakkaran (1990), which was a remake of
Amitabh Bachchan's 1981 film
Laawaris. The film earned him his eighth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil. His next two Tamil films, the
fantasy comedy Athisaya Piravi, (a remake of
Chiranjeevi's 1988 film
Yamudiki Mogudu) which also released in 1990 and the family drama
Dharmadorai (1991), did above-average business at the box office. His stint with Bollywood continued since the past decade as he went on to star in more Hindi films.
Hum released in 1991 saw him doing the second main lead with
Amitabh Bachchan became an inspiration for
Baashha. In 1991, he worked with
Mani Ratnam in
Thalapathi, which was heavily inspired by the
Mahabharata. in which he co-starred with actor
Mammooty; the film dealt with the friendship between two unknown characters based on
Karna and
Duryodhana, respectively, He received his ninth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil for the film. He went on to appear in remakes of films from other languages, mostly from Hindi and Telugu.
Annaamalai, which released in 1992, was yet another friendship-centric film and was loosely based on the 1987 Bollywood film
Khudgarz. The film was the first to have the
Superstar graphic title card. He received his tenth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil for the film.
Mannan, directed by
P. Vasu, a remake of Kannada actor
Rajkumar's 1986 blockbuster
Anuraga Aralithu, also was released in 1992 and became a box office success. Rajinikanth wrote his first screenplay for the film
Valli (1993), in which he also made a special appearance. He also starred in the film
Yajaman, in which he played the role of Vaanavaraayan, a village chieftain. His romantic-comedy
Veera (1994) was controversial for its climax but went on to become one of the highest-grossing films in 1994. That year, he earned his eleventh nomination for the
Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil for the action-drama
Uzhaippali. He joined hands with
Suresh Krishna for
Baashha (1995), which emerged as an industry record, and is routinely touted by fans and critics alike as a major-hit, as the film elevated him from being just another very popular actor to nearly demigod status among the masses. He made a cameo in
Peddarayudu for his friend
Mohan Babu and also helped him in obtaining the remake rights. The same year, he acted in yet another gangster film,
Aatank Hi Aatank with
Aamir Khan which was also his last Hindi film in a major role till date. His film
Muthu, a remake of
Mohanlal's blockbuster Malayalam film
Thenmavin Kombathu, was another commercial success, directed by
K. S. Ravikumar and produced by K. Balachander, and became the first Tamil film to be dubbed into Japanese, as
Mutu: Odoru Maharaja. The film grossed a record US$1.6 million in Japan in 1998 and was responsible for creating a large Japanese fan-base for the actor.
Muthus success in
Japan led American news magazine
Newsweek to comment in a 1999 article that Rajinikanth had "supplanted
Leonardo DiCaprio as Japan's trendiest heartthrob". During a visit to Japan in 2006, Indian Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh acknowledged the success of
Muthu in the country during a speech, justifying the positive
relationship between the two nations. He received his twelfth and thirteenth nominations for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil for his performances in
Baashha and
Muthu. He also entered
Bengali cinema through
Bhagya Debata, which was released at the end of 1995. 1997's
Arunachalam, another commercial success, earned him his fourteenth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil. Rajinikanth released his last film of the millennium with
Padayappa (1999), which went on to become a blockbuster success, and earned him his fifteenth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil. It starred
Ramya Krishnan and
Soundarya, the former critically acclaimed for her performance. It was also the last prominent role for veteran Tamil actor
Sivaji Ganesan. After a brief pause, Rajinikanth starred in
Baba in 2002, for which he had also written the screenplay. Released with much fanfare and hype at the time, the film featured a story revolving around the reforming of a gangster, later revealed to be the reincarnation of the Hindu saint
Mahavatar Babaji, and fights against political corruption. The film was received with comments such as "the bloom was off the rose" and that "the gold does not glitter any more".
Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) leader
S. Ramadoss condemned him for smoking and posing with
beedis in the film. He was criticised for spoiling the Tamil youth by glorifying smoking and drinking. PMK volunteers attacked the theatres which screened the film and usurped film rolls and burned them. Two years later, Rajinikanth signed up for P. Vasu's
Chandramukhi (2005), a remake of the
Malayalam film Manichitrathazhu. Upon release the film was highly successful at the box office, and in 2007 it set the record of being the longest running Tamil film.
Chandramukhi was also dubbed in
Turkish and in German as
Der Geisterjäger and released in the respective nations. Following
Chandramukhis release, it was reported that
AVM Productions was set to produce a film directed by
Shankar starring Rajinikanth – the largest collaboration yet for a Tamil film. The film was titled
Sivaji and was released in the summer of 2007, following two years of filming and production. It became the first Tamil film to be charted as one of the "top-ten best films" of the United Kingdom and
South Africa box offices upon release. Rajinikanth received a salary of , for his role in the film highest in his film career at that time. He received his sixteenth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil for his performance in the film. During the production of
Sivaji,
Soundarya Rajinikanth announced her intention of producing a computer-generated imagery film starring an animated version of her father titled
Sultan: The Warrior. The film was set for release in 2008, however, it entered
development hell, and its development status would become unknown over the next few years. release event in
Mumbai|alt=|left He worked with P. Vasu again for
Kuselan, a remake of the Malayalam film
Kadha Parayumbol, which was made simultaneously in
Telugu as
Kathanayakudu, in which Rajinikanth played an extended cameo role as Ashok Kumar, a film star in the Indian cinema, and as a best friend to the film's protagonist. According to Rajinikanth, the film somewhat narrated his early life. The film, however, performed poorly at box offices and led to many distributors incurring major losses. Rajinikanth also stated that he would work with
Pyramid Saimira again to compensate for
Kuselan. Rajinikanth worked again with Shankar for the science fiction film
Enthiran. The film was released worldwide in 2010 as the most expensive Indian film ever made, ultimately emerging an
All Time Blockbuster and the second highest-grossing film in India of its time. Rajinikanth was paid a remuneration of for the film. He received his seventeenth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil for his performance in the film. The film's success lead to the
Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad to use the film as a case study to analyse the business of cinema and its success story in a post-graduate elective management course called
Contemporary Film Industry: A Business Perspective. The course would also study
Muthu.
2011-present: Career fluctuations and return to success In January 2011, Rajinikanth was slated to appear in
Rana, a period film to be produced by
Soundarya Rajinikanth and directed by
K. S. Ravikumar, who would work with the actor for a third time. He was treated at St. Isabel's Hospital for a day before being discharged. Five days later, he was rushed to the same hospital again after suffering from breathlessness and fever. He was diagnosed with
bronchitis and was kept at the hospital for a week, while also spending a few days in an
intensive care unit. Several conflicting reports of discharge dates arose, as well as claims of Rajinikanth's health deteriorating. The hospital maintained that Rajinikanth was in stable condition and showed positive response to treatment. It was widely reported that he required a
kidney transplantation, which was later denied by
Dhanush. On 21 May 2011,
Aishwarya Rajinikanth released a photo of her and Rajinikanth in his hospital ward, both posing with a
thumbs-up, responding to fans' negative reaction to news reports. The hospital restricted unauthorised visitors. Rajinikanth's brother, Sathyanarayana Rao Gaekwad, reported that the cause of the sudden illness was due to stress from rapid weight-loss and changes in diet, as well as
withdrawal of alcohol consumption and
smoking cessation. After addressing fans in a 4-minute
digitally recorded voice message to the media, Rajinikanth, under the advice of Amitabh Bachchan, travelled from
Chennai to
Singapore with his family on 21 May 2011, where he was to undergo further treatment for
nephropathy at
Mount Elizabeth Hospital. After spending over two weeks at the hospital, he was finally discharged on 15 June 2011 and continued to recuperate in Singapore, before returning to Chennai on 13 July 2011. Despite several failed attempts to restart
Rana upon his return, Rajinikanth reprised his
Enthiran character, Chitti, in the Bollywood science-fiction film
Ra.One (2011) in a guest appearance alongside
Shah Rukh Khan and
Kareena Kapoor. In November 2011, it was decided that
Rana would be shelved in favour of a new project, titled
Kochadaiiyaan. The film became a huge disaster at the box office. The
motion capture film, which is the first of its type in India, was released in 2014 to positive reviews.
Kochadaiiyaan, and the 3D release of
Sivaji in 2012, made Rajinikanth the first Indian actor to have appeared in four different forms of world cinema:
black-and-white,
colour,
3D and
motion capture. Following the completion of
Kochadaiiyaan, Rajinikanth began work in Ravikumar's next directorial venture, titled
Lingaa. The film was released on 12 December 2014, coinciding with his birthday, and received mixed reviews from critics. After a two-year absence from big screen, Rajinikanth's next film was director
Pa. Ranjith's crime drama
Kabali, produced by
S. Thanu. The film was released in July 2016. The film became the
highest grossing Tamil film of the year grossing over and became the
fifth highest-grossing Tamil film of all time before being surpassed by his another film
2.0. Also, at the
Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards, the film was nominated at five categories winning all of them, and also won five awards, at the
Edison Awards, and two nominations at the
6th South Indian International Movie Awards. He also received his eighteenth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil for his performance in the film. In August 2016, it was announced that Rajinikanth and director Ranjith would work together again for a film with Dhanush as producer, titled
Kaala, in which Rajinikanth plays a
Dharavi-dwelling gangster who fights against corporate takeover of the slum. The film was officially released on 7 June 2018 and received positive reviews from critics. In 2018 he also appeared in
S. Shankar's
2.0 reprising the roles of Dr. Vaseegaran and Chitti, alongside
Akshay Kumar and
Amy Jackson. The film was released on 29 November 2018 and was commercially successful at the box office. The film earned over worldwide on its first day, which was the second-highest ever for an Indian film. The film crossed in its opening weekend to be the highest-grossing film worldwide for that week. The film also grossed over at the box office became the
highest-grossing Tamil film of the year and
second highest grossing Tamil film of all time.
2.0 is the
fourth highest-grossing film in India and is the
seventh highest-grossing Indian film worldwide. In 2019, Rajinikanth starred in
Karthik Subbaraj's
Petta, in which his performance received praise for his return to his vintage stereotypical style of acting and grossed over , becoming the
second highest-grossing Tamil film of 2019. The combined gross earnings of
Kaala,
2.0 and
Petta by the end of January 2019 was determined to be over 1000 crore according to trade analysts. Rajinikanth then worked with
AR Murugadoss in the film
Darbar, alongside
Nayanthara which released in 2020. He played the role of a police officer after 27 years since his last film as a police officer was the
Tamil film
Pandian. In spite of the huge expectations, the film received mixed to negative reviews and flopped at the box office. His 168th film was with director
Siva, titled
Annaatthe co-starring
Nayanthara and
Keerthy Suresh. The film was released on 4 November 2021. The film became a commercial success at the box office by grossing around beating the collections made by other Tamil films such as
Master and
Maanaadu. After a two-year absence from big screen, his 169th film is
Jailer, which was directed by
Nelson Dilipkumar. He played a retired jailer in the film and it was released on 10 August 2023. The film received predominantly positive reviews upon its release and achieved tremendous commercial success, grossing over ₹600 crores worldwide. In 2024, he appeared in
T. J. Gnanavel's
action drama film
Vettaiyan and did a guest appearance in his daughter's (
Aishwarya Rajinikanth)
sports drama film
Lal Salaam. While the latter sank without a trace,
Vettaiyan opened to positive critical reception, but underperformed commercially. In 2025, he appeared in
Lokesh Kanagaraj's action thriller
Coolie. He is currently working on
Jailer 2 directed by
Nelson Dilipkumar. ==Political career==