Rajendar started off in the
Tamil film industry making successful films which included him as an actor, playback singer, dancer and scriptwriter. He gained popularity through his one-of-a-kind style of acting. He normally serves as, but not limited to director, actor, songwriter, art director, production manager and
playback singer. During the 1980s, all his movies were blockbusters, running for years and the songs were also well appreciated. He is known for introducing new faces in his movies, and many of the actresses who debuted in his movies have been successful in South Cinema, including
Amala,
Nalini, Jyothi,
Jeevitha and
Mumtaj. After some years, Rajendar's films started to decline in popularity because his films became too predictable, tending to follow the same storyline and oratory style of repetitious dialogues with little if any meaning. For example, his films always contain a
sentimental scene involving the hero's younger sister in distress, coupled with the same rhyming rhetoric and gestures. Originally he wanted to start a
24-hour TV channel but could not, due to problems arising while securing a license. The channel, apart from broadcasting his movies and speeches, tends to echo sentiments towards the plight of Tamils (especially women) in Sri Lanka. He previously owned a magazine called
Usha. Rajendar also
distributes films under his home banner "Simbu cine arts". His latest film distribution, as of mid-2011 is his son Silambarasan's film
Vaanam, which will be distributed in the
Chennai and
Madurai region. ==Political career==