Rajinikanth thanks friend who identified his acting skills

Hours after he was selected for the prestigious Dadasaheb Palke award, Tamil superstar Rajinikanth on Thursday thanked his then bus driver and now friend Raja Bahadur for “identifying my acting skills” and encouraging him to taking up the profession.

The 70-year-old also thanked his elder brother Sathyanarayana Gaikwad for “several sacrifices” to transform Shivajirao Gaikwad to Rajinikanth, besides paying tributes to his guru, K Balachander, who introduced him in the 1975 Tamil film Aboorva Raagangal.

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In a statement, Rajinikanth said he dedicates the honour to Balachander, film directors, producers, technicians, distributors, theatre owners, media and his fans. He thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, his deputy O Panneerselvam, and DMK President M K Stalin for congratulating him on his win.

From an ordinary bus conductor to the superstar of the celluloid world, thanks to his electrifying presence on the screen, to the highest paid actor in the country — Rajinikanth has seen the best of everything in his life. And this is not the first time he has publicly thanked his friend and his brother – Rajinikanth has been recognising their role in shaping him as an actor every now and then.

He never misses a chance to meet Bahadur and his elder brother whenever he is in Bengaluru.