Rajnikanth Is 72 Today! Japanese Fans Still Remember Him For ‘Muthu’

New Delhi: Superstar Rajinikanth has turned 72 today. Sun Pictures, the production house of his upcoming film, ‘Jailer’, announced that a glimpse of him as Muthuvel Pandian will be released at 6 pm on the occasion of his birthday. Thalaivar will be seen as jailer Muthuvel Pandian in this action-packed entertainer. The movie is scheduled to be released in 2023.

Rajinikanth was born Shivaji Rao Gaekwad and worked as a bus conductor in Bengaluru when he was discovered by celebrated director K Balachander. He went on to captivate audiences with his larger-than-life persona and style elements that are aped even by today’s generation. He has also won the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke award in addition to the many accolades he has received.

The superstar has a cult following in Japan. His 1998 Tamil hit Muthu was released in Japan as Muthu – Oduru Maharaja (Dancing Maharaja). The movie turned out to be a blockbuster and was the first non-Hollywood movie to have got a big reception till that point in time. The movie reportedly ran for 23 weeks in Japan and grossed over $1.6 million at the box office. It created such a fan following for Rajinikanth in Japan that it was followed by the release of several of his other films such as Ejaman , Badsha , and Padayappa , among others, according to BusinessLine.

It is not uncommon to see the actor’s die-hard fans from Japan descending to Chennai to watch his films on big screens, along with Rajini maniacs and to get a glimpse of the actor.

According to some reports, the Rajinikanth fan club in Tokyo has about 3,000 members. There are fan clubs in cities such as Osaka and Kobe as well.

Here’s how the film fraternity wished him on his birthday: