Rajinikanth is an Indian actor who has appeared in over 160 films, predominantly in Tamil cinema.[1] He began his film career by playing antagonistic and supporting roles before graduating to a lead actor.[2] After starring in numerous commercially successful films throughout the 1980s and 1990s, he has continued to hold a matinée idol status in the popular culture of Tamil Nadu.[3] Writing for Slate, Grady Hendrix called him the biggest movie star you've probably never heard of.[4] Rajinikanth has also worked in other Indian film industries such as Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Bengali