It was in 1975 when superstar Rajinikanth made his acting debut with K Balachander’s Tamil film Apoorva Raagangal. And it wasn’t right from the beginning that he was offered the lead role in films. It all happened gradually and how! Before bagging roles as a lead actor, he was featured as antagonistic and even did supporting roles. Besides known for his phenomenal works in Tamil Cinema, Rajinikanth aka Thalaivar, has also worked in other industries that includes Bollywood, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Bengali. It was a year later, in 1976 that Rajinikanth got his breakthrough with the film Moondru Mudichu. It was K Balachander’s directorial and the actor’s fourth project. 10 Years Of Enthiran: This Musical Mashup Of Rajinikanth And Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's Movie Proves Why Chitti Is Our Favourite Robot.

But as time passed by, Rajinikanth’s style and mannerisms got into notice amongst the audience. The first time that he played the role of a protagonist was in the Telugu film Chilakamma Cheppindi released in 1977 and a year later he was roped in as the main lead in the Tamil film Bairavi. Over the years Rajinikanth has delivered many mind-boggling performances and has also inspired many future actors. He has fans not only in India, but even across the globe. Whenever the release date of his films are announced, movie buffs ensure to book tickets in advance in order to watch first day first show. There has not been a moment when cinema halls haven’t been houseful when Thalaivar’s film hit the big screens. On the occasion of Rajinikanth’s 70th birthday, let’s take a look at some of his biggest hits over years. 45 Years Of Rajinism: Mohanlal, Sivakarthikeyan, AR Rahman, Prithviraj Sukumaran and More Share Common DP Celebrating Rajinikanth's Milestone Achievement.

Mannan - Directed by P. Vasu, this blockbuster film was a remake of the Kannada movie Anuraga Aralithu released in 1986, also was released in 1992 and became a box office success. He plays the character named Krishna, a kind-hearted and hardworking man.

Veera – Remake of the Telugu film Allari Mogudu, the climax scene of this rom-com, helmed by Suresh Krissna had turned out to be controversial. But it still shattered records at the box office and became one of the highest-grossing films in 1994.

Muthu – KS Ravikumar’s directorial was a remake of the Malayalam film Thenmavin Kombath. This film not only turned out to be a blockbuster but it even became the first Tamil film to be dubbed into Japanese and that’s how a huge Japanese fan base was created for him.

Baashha – Manikkam aka Manik Baashha is an iconic role portrayed by Rajinikanth on the big screen. His role as a crime boss helped him earn a ‘demigod’ status amongst Kollywood lovers. The Suresh Krissna-directed film emerged as an industry record.

Padayappa – This film marked his second collaboration with KS Ravikumar. Rajinikanth played the titular role, who is a city-based engineer, once again left the movie buffs mesmerized with his sheer, brilliant acting skills. The film went on to become the highest-grossing Tamil film.

Sivaji: The Boss – With this S Shankar film, superstar Rajinikanth became the second-highest paid actor in Asia after Jackie Chan. Thalaivar’s role as a well-established software systems architect was a huge hit amongst the audience. It also won National Film Award for Best Special Effects.

Enthiran – The superstar teamed up once again with Shankar for this science fiction, which also happened to be the most expensive Indian film ever made, in which he played dual roles – a scientist and an andro-humanoid robot. Enthiran is among the highest-grossing Indian films of all time.

2.0 – This is the second instalment in the Enthiran franchise, a standalone sequel to Enthiran, in which Thalaivar reprised his roles of Vaseegaran and Chitti. This Tamil movie is the second highest-grossing film in India and is the fifth highest-grossing Indian film worldwide.

Kabali - Rajinikanth essayed the role of a Malaysian Tamil crime boss in Pa. Ranjith’s directorial. His avatar as an aged crime boss and hard-hitting dialogues left the movie buffs thrilled. Kabali had the biggest weekend opening for an Indian film.

These are some of the biggest hits of Thalaivar. Here’s the greatest and most popular actors in the history of Indian cinema, superstar Rajinikanth, a very happy birthday!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 12, 2020 12:01 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).