'I am a stylish person', says superstar Rajinikanth remembering his days as a bus conductor

Tamil film superstar and one of the most successful and popular actors of Indian cinema, Rajinikanth, at a cultural show organised by the Nadigar Sangam in 2018, spoke about his bus conductor days, media reports said.

He also spoke about whether his style statements were incorporated after his entry into the world of cinema, or there was a whole new story to it.

“Naturally, I am a stylish person,” he said, stating that his style was formed during the time he spent in Bengaluru as a bus conductor.

Talking about his speed and style, he added that during those days, when a conductor usually took 30 minutes to distribute tickets to passengers in the bus, he did the same in 10 minutes.

Thinking about his good old days, he added, “In those days, women used to sit in the front rows, and the men used to sit in the back rows in Karnataka buses. Generally, the conductor would finish giving the tickets, and stay in the back. But I used to stand right in the front. I used to have a lot of hair, and when the breeze rustled through it, and it started getting unruly, I would just flip my hair back in place. And in every stop, I used to say ticket, ticket, right from the front. So yeah, I always imbibed the style, I guess.”

Speaking about how he bagged his first big break given by director K Balachander, he said that it was all about his speed and innate style that caught the eye of the director. "He told me to hold on to this aspect of my persona very dearly."

He also added that he was warned by the director that the cinema industry will expect him to change as per the established standards, but urged him to never give in to it.

"'This is new... maintain it,' was what he said, and that's exactly what I have been doing," Rajinikanth added.

The actor who was last seen in the movie Vettaiyan, has two more upcoming movies in the pipeline- Coolie, directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, and Jailer 2, directed by Nelson.