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Join UsThis trio of twelves (12-12-2012) is more than just a fascinating arrangement of numbers. It is the birthday of the ultimate superstar, Rajinikanth. His popularity is not subjected to polls and tabloids. Your cell phone inbox bears testimony to his fame, I mean, what’s with all the millions of Rajini jokes we get and forward all day long! Koimoi wishes him a very happy birthday!
Check our list of top 10 Rajini movies that we loved and recommended over the years.
Anthuleni Katha
The movie released in 1976. It aptly fits into the genre of family drama and is reckoned to be one of the most popular films by K Balachander who directed the movie and even wrote the script. The storyline witnessed a concerned elder sister running the family that has lost their father and has a distraught brother. Rajinikanth played the role of Murthy. The movie also starred Jayapradha, Jayalakshmi and Kamal Hassan. This movie is also credited as being among the very few movies seen portraying Jayapradha in a serious role.
Moondru Mudichu
This 1976 release kind of set itself apart among its contemporary films. This K Balachander piece is a must see for any ardent Rajni fan for its sheer strong portrayal of the characters in spite of having a not very praiseworthy storyline though it was a fresh one away from stereotypical love stories and family dramas. Exceptional acting by both Rajnikanth and the beautiful Sridevi actually makes this a very good watch. A few good songs only make this Tamil film better.
Mullum Malarum
This J. Mahendran project released in 1978. It starred Jayalakshmi and Sarath Babu amongst the others, alongside Rajnikanth. Fans deeply believe this movie set the ideal stage for Rajnikanth to be viewed and literally worshipped as he is today. Rajnikanth’s trademark punch lines have developed from this movie mostly and set a trend for him as a star and later superstar. The story line is about clash of ideologies between Rajni, a village dweller and a city dwelling engineer Sarath Babu.
Aval Appadithan
This film released in 1978 under the direction of C. Rudraiyaa. It starred Rajnikanth alongside the others including Kamal Hassan and Sripriya. Ilayaraja’s music stood out. But what stood out even more for the movie to work its magic is the uncompromising storyline. The film is still often spoken about while listing best Tamil films ever. It revolves around a storyline about a lady who has minimum faith in the opposite sex. Kamal Hassan becomes intrigued with her personality and Rajni plays a chauvinistic boss.
Ninaithale Inikkum
This 1979 film was directed by K. Balachander. Like many other popular Rajni films, this too starred Kamal Hassan. Geetha and Sarath Babu too were parts of the cast. Rajni plays the guitarist in a music troupe where Kamal Hassan is the lead singer. Jayapradha plays the female lead. Look out for tempo numbers like “Sivasambhoo” where Rajni is a complete rockstar!
Johnny
This J. Mahendran movie was released in 1979. It starred Rajnikanth opposite the female lead, Sridevi. Many South Indian movie fanatics keep Mahendran at par with none other than Satyajit Ray as a director. To add to that, Rajni’s performance make this movie worth more than a single watch. The portrayal has been so effortless and simply moving especially at the twin roles that it makes for a study in cinema. If you are into movies for substance and not mere masala, this is not to be missed. Johnny’s storyline revolves around these two characters who look alike and how their actions have impact on each other.
Thillu Mullu
This 1981 project was directed by K. Balachander. Again we get to see Kamal Hassan and Rajnikanth in a hit. Madhavi, Thengai Srinivasan and Nagesh are parts of the cast too. Rajni plays the carefree graduate named Ayyampettai Arivudainambi Kaliyaperumal Chandran. On the sets of this very movie Rajni met the lady who was to be his wife the very next year, Latha. Clean jokes, effortlessly delivered, make this movie a classic laugh-a-thon.
Geraftaar
This is a 1985 Bollywood film directed by Prayag Raj. It had a lavish star cast including the likes of Kamal Hassan, Poonam Dhillon, Aruna Irani, Ranjit, Jeevan, Madhavi and others alongside Rajni and none other than the Big B, Amitabh Bachchan. The film had music by Bappi Lahiri. Rajni played Kishan who was an extremely underpaid actor from an honest family. In the course of the movie he meets Anuradha, a rich lass whom he is set to marry for love. But he gets caught up in dangerous mob activities. Geraftaar set itself to be a cult classic and epitomizes the 80s Bollywood. Though Amitabh appears late in the movie, he hogs enough lime light due to his praiseworthy performance.
Thalapathy
1991 not just saw the Indian economy open up to liberalization but also this timeless Tamil classic. The movie also has Ilayaraja at his best. This Mani Ratnam movie speaks for itself with spectacular performances by Rajni, Mammootty, Shobana and others. The rise of a slum kid into being partners with the neighborhood godfather to form some sort of a parallel government and the interference of the law, makes for the story line. Surya is played by Rajni and his step brother district collector is played by Aravind Swami who did some commendable acting too.
Enthiran
This 2010 movie was adapted into the Bollywood production under the title Robot. The story of technology’s curse and boon forms the backbone of the script. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is the female lead who enchants not just the scientist Rajni but also his creation, the human android played by Rajni himself. There’s trouble is paradise when the robot goes rogue and wrecks havoc. We see Danny Denzongpa on screen after quite a while. S. Shankar’s direction is praiseworthy. Rajni’s roel, that is Dr. Vasigaran, was offered to the likes of Shah Rukh Khan, Amir Khan, Ajith Kumar and Kamal Hassan.
If you feel we missed out a movie that deserves a spot on this list, feel free to share it with us. Also, fans are welcome to share cool Rajni trivia, punch lines, goofs and jokes! Happy commenting!
