How Vijay Thalapathy, Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan looked DECADES ago; Superstars' then and now pictures

Tamil stars have had different journeys, laying their foundation with hard work and talent and now making big numbers at the box office. Let’s take a look at some of the Tamil stars including Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Vijay Thalapathy and others’ initial days on the big screens to now ruling them.

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Shivaji Rao Gaekwad famously known as superstar Rajinikanth had a very humble start in cinema. His talent was noticed by legendary filmmaker K. Balachander, who gave him the screen name Rajinikanth in his debut film Apoorva Raagangal. In the beginning, Rajinikanth mostly acted in supporting roles. But his career changed with Mullum Malarum, directed by J. Mahendran. Even today, many consider it one of the finest performances of his career. In 2025, he completed 50 years in Tamil cinema. His last release, Coolie, became the third highest-grossing film of his career after ‘Jailer’ and ‘2.0’. He is now getting ready for the release of ‘Jailer 2’. After that, fans will see him share screen space with another Tamil cinema legend, Kamal Haasan, in a new project that will also be produced under Kamal Haasan’s production banner.

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Kamal Haasan started his journey in cinema as a child artist. He made an impressive debut with Kalathur Kannamma and won the President’s Gold Medal for his performance. Known as one of the most talented and versatile actors in Indian cinema, Kamal Haasan has won several National Awards during his long career. Many people consider him one of the finest actors in the country. The veteran star has an exciting lineup ahead. He has big projects like ‘Indian 3’, ‘Kalki 2’, and the much-awaited sequel ‘Vikram 2’ in the pipeline. He will also be joining Rajinikanth in two of the upcoming projects.

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Today, actor-turned politician Vijay Thalapathy is not only one of the biggest stars in Tamil cinema but also sits on the chair of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister. The actor began his career as a child actor in 1984 at the age of 10 in the movie ‘Vetri’ directed by his father, S. A. Chandrasekhar. Later, he made his full-fledged debut as the lead in ‘Naalaiya Theerpu’, also helmed by his father. Speaking of 2026, he has not completed more than 3 decades in the industry and now is transitioning his focus into politics. The actor’s last film remains the political action thriller ‘Jana Nayagan’, which is yet to be released theatrically after the legal issue with CBFC and later getting leaked online. Now there’s a buzz that says the film will be released soon.

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Tamil superstar Suriya is a prominent actor and filmmaker in Kollywood. Interestingly, Suriya before entering the film business, the ‘Karuppu’ actor worked in the garment industry for nearly three years. However, due to financial constraints, he entered the film industry to help his family pay off a Rs 25,000 loan that his mother had taken without his father's (veteran actor Sivakumar) knowledge. He then debuted in 1997 with the film ‘Nerukku Ner’. Today, he stands as one of the biggest stars and is gearing up for the release of ‘Karuppu’, which is a fantasy action drama starring Trisha Krishnan, directed by RJ Balaji. The film is releasing on May 14.

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It was at the age of 16 when Dhanush went to star in the 2002 film, ‘Thulluvadho Ilamai’ directed by his father, Kasthuri Raja, and written by his brother, Selvaraghavan. Interestingly, this wasn’t Dhanush’s first dream, before making his own legacy with the films, Dhanush had wanted to be a chef. However, fate had some other plans as today, Dhanush stands as one of the most versatile artists in the industry, playing the roles of an actor, producer, director, writer, and playback singer. He was recently seen in the action thriller, ‘Kara’ directed by Vignesh Raja.

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