Birthday Special! Rajinikanth: Must watch Telugu movies of the Super Star

Born as Shivaji Rao Gaekwad on December 15, 1950, to parents Ramoji Rao Gaekwad, a police constable, Jijabai, a homemaker, Rajinikanth spent his early childhood years in a Maratha family in Bangalore-Mysore state. By the time he reached his teens, the family had moved to the suburb of Hanumantha Nagar in Bangalore and built a house there. Rajinikanth’s family includes his two elder brothers, Satyanarayana Rao and Nageshwara Rao, a sister Aswath Balubhai and his wife, Latha Rajinikanth. Rajinikanth is one of the rare actors who have shown a remarkable from being a teen idol to a superstar performer. On this note, here we take a look at some Telugu films of the megastar that are an absolute watch!

The Rajinikanth-Mammootty starrer is considered as the cult classic and a great cinematic piece as well. The Mani Ratnam directorial is still unbeatable and will remain timeless for its elegance in the formative years of the cinema. This is the film which won million hearts and many awards as well and is touted to be one of the best movies of all time. The drama about two brothers marked his artistic breakthrough. The film was the beginning of a long time and much-respected collaboration between Rajinikanth and Mammootty.

Suresh Krishna-directed ‘Basha’ is a part of the ultimate classic collection which cannot be laid for competition with later films. ‘Basha’, which placed Rajinikanth on the map of stardom, is considered to be a record-breaking achievement for film-making geniuses. Rajini’s appearance as a lonely and kind-hearted don is today considered one of the most legendary appearances of an actor in Indian cinema history.

The KS Ravi Kumar directorial showed a different side of Rajinikanth to feed the audience's curiosity of his heroism and performance as well. Unlike the other Rajini films, ‘Muthu’ gives a different and very unique approach to the life of the great actor. This movie gave a fairly different and very striking take that has grabbed the attention of many people. His performance from this film was clearly one of the best of his career. Rajinikanth was totally convincing as a Zamindar and a kind-hearted servant (Dual role) in ‘Muthu’, a romantic drama about how a Zamindar’s son turns poor servant and later he finds the rightful owner of the entire wealth.

Another film that definitely has to be on any best-of Rajinikanth list is ‘Narasimha’. Directed by KS Ravi Kumar, the film also stars Sivaji Ganesan, Ramya Krishnan and Soundarya in pivotal roles. His depiction of the talented, kind-hearted yet brave man Narasimha was hailed by critics for superbly bringing out the many sides of the character. The actor-director’s reunion quickly turned a blockbuster hit at the box-office and this is definitely a film worth watching.

Another great comedy horror is ‘Chandramukhi’. In this film, Rajinikanth stars as a psychiatrist who arrives at his best buddy’s home to solve his issue. He is seen facing some hard decisions while he is investigating the issue at hand. This film reportedly got full marks from the audiences and critics alike. Directed by P Vasu, the film has also an ensemble of star cast including, Prabhu, Jyothika, Vadivelu, Nayanthara, Nassar, Vineeth, Sheela and among others. This is one film with an incredible ending and this is an absolute must watch for fans of Rajinikanth.

Rajinikanth became one of South India’s most bankable actors from the movie ‘Shivaji’. He got reportedly paid Rs 26 crore for the film and he then emerged as the highest-paid actor in Asia after Jackie Chan at the time. Rajini plays an NRI software architect who arrives in India to establish a non-profit trustable trust for the sake of people, but no one helps him in this case. This film has been acknowledged for its importance to ruin the black money in India. Shriya Saran had played the leading lady opposite Rajini in the film, directed by S Shankar.