Rajinikanth to hit 45-year mark in filmdom, thanks fans

Actor Rajinikanth, hailed as 'Superstar' by his fans, on Sunday thanked them and celebrities, who wished him, as he is set to complete 45 years in the Tamil cinema industry in a week. On his twitter handle, Rajinikanth expressed his heartfelt thanks to his fans and a host of people including celebrities who wished him well.

A Common Display Picture (CDP) was released on Sunday evening celebrating 45 years of 'Rajinism' in Tamil cinema. The picture encapsulates several avatars of Rajinikanth in Tamil cinema since his early days in the field.

The hashtag #45YearsofRajinismCDP and #Neengal Illamal Nan Illai (roughly translated as Without you I am not there) in Tamil trended on Twitter. Rajinikanth's debut Tamil movie, a K Balachander directorial, 'Apoorva Ragangal' released on August 15, 1975, and the 69-year old actor has acted in over 170 movies. A battalion of celebrities including actor Mohanlal, directors Ranjith, Karthick Subbaraj, dance master Raghava Lawrence, producer Thanu, former cricketer Hemang Badani greeted the top star and released the CDP.