Photos Shot Collection: Rajini-in Different Characters and Getups

16 Vayathinile – Parattai

How often is the one liner delivered by a villain remembered and repeated for years? Rarely, if ever and it took one of Rajini’s finest performances to make this happen. In Bharathiraja’s raw and near perfect depiction of a village had two of Tamil cinema’s most memorable all time performances, Parattai and Chappani.

Baasha – Manick Baasha
Maybe, the biggest hit of Superstar’s career, in terms of impact that it had. The fights, the style, the punch dialogues, just about everything is etched in the mind of every Rajini fan, no, of every one who watches Tamil cinema. Such movies happen only once in the career of even the greatest.

Billa – Billa, Raja

Rajini's dual role, one of which has a touch of effeminate behavior, and the super stylist action sequences made Billa immortal. And, not to forget, the foot thumping number 'my name is Billa'. Billa charm was proved again recently when it was remade after decades.

Moondru Mugam - Alex Pandian
If you create a list of cop roles in Tamil cinema, Alex Pandian should figure right on top of that list. Rajini himself has played many other cop roles, but none of them have left such a lasting impact. Even today, an entirely new generation of actors looks up to Alex Pandian for inspiration each time they play a cop.

Mullum Malarum – Kali
This was a critic’s Rajini movie, the first any critic would remember if you were to ask them about Rajini’s acting skills. The movie marked the association of Rajini with Mahendran, the master of realistic depiction of life.

Murattu Kalai – Kalaiyan
This movie definitely occupies a pedestal in every Rajini fans’ mind. Murattu Kalai catapulted Rajini’s stardom to great heights. The ‘Pothuvaga en Manassu Thangam’ song and the famous Jallikattu scene are remembered even today.

Ninaithale Inikkum – Deepak
Maybe one of the most jovial characters Rajini has played on screen. The lighter moments in this movie that are lit up by Rajini’s humor are numerous. Even if he is not the central character or the so called hero in this movie, his character is remembered as one of equal importance. One can also say that this was the only time that Rajini shouldered the responsibility of a full time comedian showing that he can pull off even that convincingly.

Sri Raghavendra – Sri Raghavendra
This movie is special to Rajini for very personal reasons. His devotion towards Sri Raghavendra is well known as is his strong spiritual side. The chance to bring alive Sri Raghavendra on screen should have gone only to Rajini and he did not let it go.

Thillu Mullu – Indiran, Chandran
This counts among the movies that are proof of the fact that before being Superstar, Rajini is a complete actor with enviable versatility. The contrasting portrayal of two personalities in the same movie with unassuming ease is definitely among Rajini’s best performances, no wonder it came under K. Balachander. Pity such scripts have not been written for Rajini again.