Rajinikanth: Lesser known facts

A documentary on Rajinikanth's fans

Much like Shah Rukh Khan's Fan, a documentary film has been made on Rajinikanth's fans. The superstar enjoys immense popularity and has a huge fan following. Titled, For The Love of a Man, the film is an ode to more than 150,000 fan clubs dedicated to Rajinikanth. These fan clubs span the globe from rural Tamil Nadu villages to cities in Japan. According to reports, University of Michigan professor, Joyojeet Pal, is the man behind the project. Among the fans featured in the documentary is a peanut seller — Mani, a former gangster and a small-time local politician. But he is also a Rajinikanth fan and organizes events around the release of his films. Then there are people who make a living mimicking Rajinikanth songs, dialogues and dances. The documentary, For The Love of a Man, produced by Pal and directed by Kalsy, will also premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September.

After a hiatus, Rajinikanth had returned to Twitter to tweet about APJ Abdul Kalam. Check out as to what he had to say...

Rajinikanth returns to Twitter, remembers APJ Abdul Kalam

Rajinikanth, who had taken a break from Twitter, has returned to the micro-blogging site, to tweet his condolences for Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. He wrote a series of posts remembering the honourable politician. He posted, "I did not have the privilege of seeing our mahatma Gandhiji, Kamaraj or Barathiyaar but was blessed enough to live admist mahatma Kalamji. From humble beginnings Abdul Kalam ji rose to great heights but continued to live humble and simple. He lived to inspire millions of people. He endeared himself to student community motivating them at all levels. God has embraced him silently with love. May his soul rest in peace." [sic]

Read on to know more about Rajinikanth's ardent fan who passed away while watching Lingaa...

Rajinikanth's fan-following knows no bounds. So much that the superstar has even been worshipped for years by his fans. In a latest incident that came to light, an ailing fan of Rajini was determined to see his latest release Lingaa despite suffering from kidney problem. According to a PTI report, 56-year-old Rajendran was found dead on his seat at a cinema house after the show with the intravenous drip-tube intact, police said. Being an ardent Rajinikanth fan, he wanted to watch the movie Lingaa, but strict vigil at the hospital prevented his movement, said the report. However, he made up his mind to watch the late night show and reportedly managed to give the slip to the hospital staff.

Here are some lesser known facts about the superstar...

Rajinikanth rules millions of hearts with his style. He can never attend his film's public screenings. The actor considers all his films very important. After every film, the superstar takes a break from Chennai and usually visits the Himalayas. Rajinikanth has received many awards for films, mostly Tamil films. The actor is known for his good rapport with everyone. Superstars like SRK and Salman follow Rajinikanth. Shah Rukh paid tribute to Rajinikanth through the song 'Lungi Dance' in Chennai Express.

South star Rajinikanth needs no special mention as the entire nation loves him. He has a strong fan following. However, the actor chooses to be simple and rooted. 22 years ago, three of his fans died in an accident on their way back from his birthday celebrations in Chennai. Since then, Rajinikanth celebrates his birthday outside the city.

Whatever Rajinikanth does, becomes famous. Even a superstar like Shah Rukh Khan couldn't resist himself from asking Rajinikanth to do a cameo in his film. He is the highest paid actor in India and the second highest in Asia. According to reports in the media, after the success of Sivaji, Rajinikanth's fee of Rs 26 crore made him the highest-paid Asian actor after Jackie Chan.

Earlier, Rajinikanth worked as a bus conductor in Bangalore. Later, he went to Madras Film Institute to pursue his career. His family was not in support of his decision. But during his tough days, it was his friend Raj Bahadur who supported the actor. He was performing in a stage play and got noticed by Tamil film director K Balachander. When Rajinikanth made his debut on Twitter, he attracted almost 150000 'followers' on the first day itself!

Rajinikanth's fans believe that the actor can do anything on the silver screen. In fact, any character that Rajinikanth plays onscreen has not died for many years now. The directors fear that killing his character will send fans on a rampage. Rajinikanth is the first Indian actor to have worked in films using different camera technologies like black-and-white, colour, 3D and motion capture.

Rajinikanth's film Enthiran is the only Tamil film that made it into IMDb's Top 50 films from around the world list in 2010. The film has been included as a case study in an IIM-A postgraduate elective course, Contemporary Film Industry: A Business Perspective. The sci-fi Enthiran is also the highest grossing Indian film of all time.

Rajinikanth, who is considered as God in the south film industry is, in reality, a Maharashtrian. Rajinikanth has worked in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi and even Bengali films, but never in a film in his mother tongue, Marathi. The fans' frenzy for Rajinikanth’s Kochadaiiyaan began months before the release. He appeared on Twitter for the very first time on May 5, 2014 and he instantly broke the record for the number of followers on first day by any Indian movie star by getting over 2.5 lakh followers.