Thalaiva Rajinikanth turns 72: Five lesser-known facts about the South superstar

Rajinikanth aka 'Thalaiva', who turned 72 on Monday, is a name that has enthralled the audience with various characters and films over the course of his career spanning several decades.

From children to the elderly, this legendary actor has fans across all age groups. His larger-than-life portrayal of characters and off-screen simplicity is what makes him stand apart from his peers.

So, as the veteran star, who started as a bus conductor, turns another year older today, let's dig deep for some lesser-known facts about the superstar:

Born into a Marathi family in Bangalore, Rajinikanth's real name is Shivaji Rao Gaekwad and he grew up learning Marathi and Kannada. The future superstar was named after the great Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji.

Before entering the film industry, once he was done with his schooling, Rajinikanth did various jobs including that of a coolie and carpenter. He was also recruited by the Bangalore Transport Service as a bus conductor.

Did you know he started out as a villain initially? During the first couple of years, Rajinikanth played anti-hero roles like an abusive husband, womanizer, etc. In 1977, he was seen playing a positive character on the silver screen in the movie 'Bhuvana Oru Kelvikuri'.

Rajinikanth has starred in eleven Tamil remakes of Amitabh Bachchan films like 'Deewar', 'Amar Akbar Anthony', 'Laawaris' and 'Don' among others which later went on to become superhits.

Rajinikanth is the only Indian actor to have featured in the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) syllabus in a lesson titled 'From Bus Conductor to Superstar'.