The Tamil mega star from 70s till present, he is one of the highest earning actors in Asia. He has also worked in Hindi, Telugu and Kannada and even an English film. Born in Bangalore (India) he was the son of a police constable. He was employed as a bus conductor before he joined the Madras Film Institute. He made his debut in Katha Sangama (1975) and became a star with Apoorva Raagangal (1975). His unique acting style is characterized by a trademark gesture: flipping a cigarette in the air and catching it in his mouth. His dark skin and heavy-lidded eyes have made him the hero of the lower classes. His fans conduct poojas on huge cutouts of Rajnikant just before the launching of his films to ensure his success. His fans collect opening day ticket stubs of his movies and even buy them at exorbitant prices. Directors cannot 'kill off' his character in the movie for fear that the theatre will be burnt down to prevent future runnings of the movie by his 'crazed' fans who consider him almost a god. He is said to "explode like a tiger on screen".

Tamil megastar, worshipped like a god by his fansDespite being a megastar of Tamil movies, he is not Tamil.Father of Aishwarya Rajinikanth .Father of Soundarya Rajinikanth .His mother-tongue is Marathi.