Rajinikanth Birthday Special: Lesser known facts about Thalaiva

Superstar Rajinikanth turns a year older today. On his special day, here are some lesser known facts about him.

Legendary actor Rajinikanth has a huge fan following not just in India, but abroad as well. The megastar has been entertaining us for decades and till date fans are excited before the release of his films. Be it his unique way of delivering dialogues or his 'superstar' aura, the actor is much loved, even worshipped by some of his fans.  

He celebrates his birthday on December 12 that is today.

On the very special ocassion, here is a look at some lesser known facts about the one and only Thalaiva.

1. Rajinikanth was born into a Marathi family in Bangalore and was named Shivaji Rao Gaekwad. He was named after Chhatrapati Shivaji, the brave Maratha warrior King.

2. Once he was done with his schooling, Rajinikanth, the future superstar, performed various jobs including that of a coolie and carpenter. He was recruited in the Bangalore Transport Service as a bus conductor.

3. During the superstar's birthday, his fan associations organise eye donation and blood donation camps regularly.

4. According to reports, Rajinikanth is the highest paid actor in India and the second highest in Asia. After the success of his film Sivaji, that released in the year 2007, Rajinikanth's fee was as high as Rs 26 Crore. He became the second-highest paid Asian actor after Jackie Chan.

5. When it comes to the megastar, his fan-following certainly breaks all records. Reports are that the moment Rajinikanth made a Twitter account, he attracted as many as 1,50,000 followers on the first day!