Superstar Rajinikanth turns seventy today and is and will always be the most inspiring personality in the entertainment world. When he entered Tamil cinema in the seventies it was mandatory that chaste Tamil was spoken by the actors and leading men were required to be handsome in a conventional way. Rajini did not fit any of those requirements and what is more he did not speak the language either. But inspite of these insurmounatble barriers he still found his way into the hearts of the Tamils through his sheer charisma and rebellious style initially and after reaching the topmost pedestal his core inner personality and humility connected to the masses and that bond became permanent.

Many including Rajini himself do not rate him as a good actor but how wrong they all are has been proved on numerous occasions in many of his films. The innocent milkman turning into a sauve business magnate or a playful auto ricshaw driver hiding the fact that he was once a dreaded gangster could not have captured the imagination of generations without solid acting behind the well written characters. For the masses Rajini gives what they want most - an entertaining two odd hours without letting the brain wander towards the woes of day to day existence - which is the biggest gift they can bargain for any day.

Today the grandfather Rajini is still more stylish than most of the grandsons in the crowd. His passion to entertain is still intact while his gratitude to the people who made him a celluloid king is forcing him to become one in real life too. Cinema or politics he will always be known as the Thalaivar and one thing is for sure, he is the Wonder (Athisayam) and the Miracle (Arputham) put together and much more for his fans spanning generations. Happy birthday Thalaivar, may your life continue to be spiritually fullfilling with great health and many more years of your inimitable swag in the Petta or the Kotta.