Did you know that K. Balachander changed Rajinikanth’s name from Shivaji Rao Gaekwad to change his skin colour?

Undoubtedly, Rajinikanth is considered the ‘God’ of Indian cinema. With his stunning looks, excellent acting and unique personality, he has been ruling millions of hearts for over 4 decades. His identity as Rajinikanth has become so popular that people often forget that his real name is Shivaji Rao Gaekwad. Yes, Rajinikanth is his screen name, but do you know how and why the superstar changed his name? In this article, we will find out how Shivaji became Rajinikanth.

In his biography, Rajinikanth: A Life, written by Vasanthi, an excerpt from the book reveals Rajinikanth’s early days in showbiz and how he got his name while shooting for his debut Tamil film Apoorva Raagangal alongside Kamal Haasan and Srividya. It was film director K. Balachander who advised the Jailer actor to change his name to avoid confusion with his fellow actor Sivaji Ganesan.

According to Deccan Herald, while meeting Rajinikanth, Balachander said, “I told him your name will be Rajinikanth. He pronounced it twice and said, okay.” For those who don’t know, Sivaji Ganesan was a popular face in the Tamil industry. Interestingly, this was not even his real name. The Karnan actor was born as Villupuram Chinnaiya Manarayar Ganeshamurthy but later adopted Sivaji Ganesan as his stage name.

Talking about the Vettaiyan actor, after discussions, Balachander suggested the name ‘Rajinikanth’ for the actor. It is pertinent to mention that the filmmaker took this name from the name of a character in his 1996 film Major Chandrakanth. Actor AVM Rajan played Rajinikanth’s role in this film starring NT Rama Rao.

Notably, the name literally means ‘colour of the night’ and was a comment on Shivaji Rao’s skin colour. And thus Rajinikanth was born. Apart from Rajinikanth, the veteran actor is also fondly called ‘Thalaivar’ by his fans and well-wishers.

As mentioned in his biography, it was the full moon night of Holi, the festival of colours, when K Balachander named Sivaji Rao as Rajinikanth. Meanwhile, on the work front, Rajinikanth will be seen in his upcoming film Vettaiyan opposite TJ Gnanavel. Apart from them, the film will feature Fahadh Faasil, Amitabh Bachchan, Manju Warrier, Dushara Vijayan and many others in pivotal roles. Besides this, Rajinikanth will also be seen in Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Coolie alongside brilliant actors like Nagarjuna and Shruti Haasan.

How excited are you for Thalaivar’s upcoming movies? Let us know in the comments.