Superstar Rajinikanth rules Tamil cinema today. He started his career with negative roles. We look at five early movies where he nailed the villain character.
Superstar Rajinikanth reached the top of Tamil cinema without any film background. He relied only on his talent and hard work. He started his life as a bus conductor in Bangalore. Today, he stands as one of the biggest icons of Indian cinema. Fans absolutely love his unique style, dialogue delivery, walk, and acting.
But the Rajinikanth we celebrate today did not start as a hero. He mostly appeared in negative roles during his early days. He grabbed everyone's attention by playing villain roles in many Kamal Haasan movies.
Director K. Balachander introduced Rajinikanth to cinema. Rajini proved his brilliant acting skills through these early villain roles. We look at five important Kamal-Rajini movies where Rajini's villainy left fans completely amazed.
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1. Apoorva Raagangal (1975)
Director K. Balachander holds the credit for introducing a great actor like Rajinikanth to Tamil cinema. Rajini made his first on-screen appearance in the 1975 movie Apoorva Raagangal under his direction.
Kamal Haasan played the lead role in this film. Rajinikanth played a small, negative-shaded character named Pandiyan. He had very little screen time. But his introduction scene and unique look grabbed everyone's attention.
Rajini debuted in a different character instead of a hero role in his first film. Nobody expected back then that he would later become an unavoidable star in Tamil cinema.
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2. Moondru Mudichu (1976)
Moondru Mudichu is an important film that showcased Rajinikanth's early acting skills. K. Balachander directed this movie. Rajini acted alongside Kamal Haasan and Sridevi. He played a negative character named Prasad. He acted as a selfish young man who wants to steal his friend's lover.
Prasad shows his extreme selfishness when his friend faces danger during a boat ride. This scene clearly highlighted the cruel mindset of his character. Kamal played a positive young man. Rajini's acting became the main strength of the film. This movie brought him more recognition for his villain roles.
Avargal remains one of the most intense negative roles in Rajinikanth's career.
K. Balachander directed this film. The story focused on three men in a woman's life and the emotional complications they cause. Rajinikanth played Ramanathan, the husband of Sujatha. He terrified the audience as a suspicious and dominating husband who mentally tortures his wife without understanding her feelings.
Sujatha leaves him unable to bear the torture. But Rajini's character enters her life again and creates more problems. On the other hand, Kamal Haasan played Janardhanan, a man who loves Sujatha one-sidedly. Rajini's villainy and Kamal's soft acting added great strength to the story.
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4. 16 Vayathinile (1977)
We cannot easily ignore the name Parattai when talking about Rajinikanth's villain roles in Tamil cinema. Director Bharathiraja made his debut with 16 Vayathinile. Rajinikanth played a rough village rogue named Parattai in this film. Kamal Haasan showed his versatile acting as an innocent man named Chappani in the same movie.
Parattai roams around the village showing off his power and arrogance. The way he treats Chappani and Mayil made fans really angry. Rajini's body language and dialogue delivery made this character unforgettable. Fans still remember the dialogues he spoke in this film. Bharathiraja directed this movie, not Balachander. But it still created a massive turning point in Rajini's career.
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5. Aadu Puli Attam (1977)
Aadu Puli Attam is another important movie where Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth acted together. SP Muthuraman directed this film. The story had a crime background. Kamal Haasan played a young man who dreams of becoming a police officer. Unexpected situations connect him to the crime world. The changes in his life formed the main plot.
Rajinikanth played a negative-shaded character with his usual style. The screenplay made Kamal's character travel on a path to bring criminals before the law in the end. The makers gave completely different characters to both actors in this film too.
