Rajinikanth

Rajinikanth was born as Shivaji Rao Gaikwad in a Maratha family, to mother Jijabai and father Ramoji Rao Gaikwad, a police constable, on 12 December 1950 in the Indian city of Bangalore in Mysore State, present-day Karnataka.

He was the youngest of four siblings and has two brothers and a sister. After his mother's death when he was five years old,he struggled with an impoverished lifestyle during his childhood. During that time, he often did odd jobs as a coolie in his community. He attended the Government Model Primary School at Gavipuram, Bangalore, where he had his elementary education in Kannada.

Rajinikanth has received numerous awards for many of his films mostly in Tamil. He received his first Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Actor in 1984 for Nallavanuku Nallavan.

Later he received Filmfare Award nominations for his performances in Sivaji (2007) and Enthiran (2010). Rajinikanth also received Tamil Nadu State Film Awards in the Best Actor category for his roles in Muthu (1995), Padayappa (1999), Chandramukhi (2005), and Sivaji (2007). He also received numerous awards from Cinema Express and Filmfans' Association for his on-screen performances and off-screen contributions in writing and producing.