In Pics | Have you seen these 10 classic Rajinikanth movies?

Kollywood legend Rajinikanth was on Thursday conferred with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2019 much to the delight of 'Thalaivar' fans. The veteran actor began his acting career with a key role in the 1975 release Apoorva Raagangal, directed by his mentor ace filmmaker K Balachander. He went on to consolidate his standing in the industry, emerging as the choice of the masses.Here is a look at 10 timeless Rajinikanth movies and their IMDb ratings

Apoorva Raagangal (7.5) | Rajinikanth made his debut with a relatively small role in the hard-hitting drama 'Apoorva Raagangal', which featured his future 'arch rival' actor Kamal Haasan in the lead. The star did justice to the complex character, proving that he had arrived.Credit: IMDb

Billa (7.4) | The film was a remake of the Bollywood hit 'Don' and featured Rajinikanth in two distinct roles-- a gangster and his lookalike. The actioner emerged as a commercial success and established the 'Superstar' as a bankable star.Credit: IMDb

Thee (6.6) | Rajinikanth reprised Amitabh Bachchan's role from' Deewaar' in the Tamil remake of the Bollywood classic and impressed fans with his raw intensity. 'Thee' had an impressive cast that included Suman, Manorama and Sowcar Janaki.Credit: Screengrab/YouTube

Thillu Mullu (8.6) | 'Superstar' essayed the lead role in the K Balachander-directed remake of the Bollywood classic 'Gol Maal'. The actor impressed fans with his comic timing proving that he is versatility personified. Credit: IMDb

Moondru Mugam (7.2) | Rajinikanth played three distinct roles in the action-packed 'Moondru Mugam', giving proof of his acting prowess. The film was later remade in Hindi as 'John Jani Janardhan' with the actor reprising his role from the original version. Credit: Wikipedia

Mannan (7.2) | Rajini played the role of a self-made man of the masses in the Tamil remake of the Kannada classic 'Anuraga Aralithu', hitting it out of the park with his spirited performance. His scenes with 'Lady Amitabh' Vijayashanthi were a highlight of the blockbuster. Credit: IMDb

Baashha (8.2) | 'Baashha' featured Rajinikanth in the role of an auto driver with a past and emerged as one of the biggest hits of his career. The film was loosely based on the Bollywood movie 'Hum' and soon attained cult status. Young filmmaker Karthik Subbaraj's 'Petta' was perceived to be a tribute to Suresh Krissna's magnum opus. Credit: IMDb

Muthu (7.6) | The masala entertainer emerged as a blockbuster while receiving rave reviews and established Rajinikanth as the undisputed king of the box office. It was later dubbed in Japanese as 'Muthu Odoru Maharaja', which established Rajinikanth as an international sensation. The cast included Meena, Sarath Babu and Raghuvaran. Credit: YouTube

Padayappa (8.1) | The KS Ravikumar-directed movie opened to a thunderous response at the box office and soon attained cult status. Rajinikanth's massy performance and his crackling chemistry with a feisty Ramya Krishnan were the major highlights of the biggie. Credit: IMDb

Chandramukhi (7.1) | Rajinikanth suffered a setback when the 2002 release Baba underperformed at the box office and failed to impress fans. He bounced back in style with 'Chandramukhi', a remake of the Malayalam movie 'Manichitrathazhu'. His larger-than-life screen presence and massy action scenes added a new dimension to the film. Credit:YouTube