50 years of Rajinikanth: Inside the Adyar home the place the Superstars debut, Apoorva Raagangal, was shot

It was a low-angle shot that the movie’s director, Ok Balachander, had envisioned for this specific sequence, and it took the actor, then a beginner looking for his toes in Tamil cinema, greater than 5 takes to get it proper. It was his first shot for the large display, and pushing the gate would — fairly actually — mark his entry into Tamil movies.

That actor is none aside from Rajinikanth, and the movie, Apoorva Raagangal (launched on August 18, 1975).

Cut to 2025, and the ‘Superstar’, as Rajinikanth is extensively referred to as by followers, is awaiting the discharge of his upcoming movie, Coolie, directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj.

August 2025 not solely marks Coolie’s launch. It additionally marks 50 years of actor Rajinikanth.

The residence

Fifty years since Rajinikanth shot for Apoorva Raagangal, that home in Adyar nonetheless stands, and is in pristine situation. The place the place the actor delivers his first strains (‘Bhairavi veedu idhane’?), the place he will get atop a parked scooter and the timber within the backdrop… they’re all very a lot there, harking back to a day that may go on to alter the destiny of Tamil cinema for good.

Unfortunately, the gate that Rajinikanth pushes within the movie was changed by a contemporary design 10 years in the past by its present homeowners. But, all the pieces else in the home stays the identical because it did within the 1975 movie, which was additionally the primary time Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan (the hero of the movie) share display house.

Directed by the late legendary filmmaker Ok Balachander, Apoorva Raagangal will probably be remembered by some Tamil cinema followers as a fancy tackle relationships. But many followers can even bear in mind it to be the introduction of Rajinikanth, a person who got here from humble beginnings and went on to change into one of many largest superstars in the nation.

While the movie focussed on Kamal Haasan, Major Sundararajan, Srividya and Jayasudha, Rajinikanth’s dramatic cameo within the climax made heads flip. As Ok Balachander is quoted in author Naman Rachandran’s e-book, Rajinikanth: The Definitive Biography, “When I launched him in Apoorva Raagangal, it was a small function however individuals would bear in mind him as a result of he comes within the climax. So I assumed I’ll give this specific function to him.”

But it was no cakewalk for conductor-turned-actor Shivaji Rao Gaekwad, as Rajinikanth was then identified earlier than Ok Balachander determined to re-christen him. He reportedly took ideas from in style comic Nagesh, who additionally had a brief function within the movie, to ape the director’s off-screen rationalization of the scene to do away with his nervousness.

Rajinikanth has made huge strides since his first day of shoot on this Adyar home — which was on a Thursday (March 27, 1975). His on-screen persona and elegance has fetched him thousands and thousands of followers throughout the globe. Today, he owns a residence on the posh neighbourhood of Poes Garden however considered one of his unfulfilled goals is buying that home the place he first stood as a younger actor. In an interview to Zee Tamil through the promotions of director Shankar’s 2.0 in 2018, the actor acknowledged, “I’ve been to that home in Adyar fairly just a few instances after I made it large. I needed to purchase it. It did come up on the market however earlier than we may proceed, another person bought it.”

The present homeowners of the property, who bought the home in 1979, are nicely conscious of the wealthy cinematic historical past related to their residence and have thus made only a few adjustments to the way it was 50 years in the past. But in addition they request anonymity and privateness – as they’re a little bit cautious of Rajinikanth followers touchdown up at their doorstep unannounced.