Bus conductor to Thalaivar: Remembering Rajinikanth’s inspiring journey on his 74th birthday

Rajinikanth is arguably Tamil Cinema’s biggest superstar, with his larger-than-life image famous across India. This is an impressive feat, as he is a self-made star from rather humble beginnings

Before entering movies, he worked several odd jobs, like being a coolie and a carpenter. Most notably, he was a bus conductor with the Bangalore Transport Service

While working, Rajinikanth kept acting in dramas where he played mythological characters, and eventually enrolled in an acting course at the newly-opened Madras Film Institute

He was then noticed by veteran filmmaker K Balachander, who gave him a small role in his anthology Apoorva Raagangal (1975)

From then, there was no stopping him, as he went on to establish himself as a bonafide star in the 80s and 90s with movies like Billa, Murattu Kaalai, Pokkiri Raja, Thalapathy, Basha, Muthu and more

With movies breaking several box office records in the 2000s and 2010s, his success streak continued well into the new millennium

He also received two of the the highest civilian honours in India, namely, the Padma Bhushan in 2000, and Padma Vibhushan in 2016

Despite a career spanning five decades, and 170+ films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, and Malayalam, Rajinikanth is still going strong, living up to his title, Thalaivar, the undisputed king of Tamil Cinema!