Ace director J Mahendran, often regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers in the history of Tamil cinema, astutely recognised and brought forth Rajinikanth's untapped acting abilities in the three films they collaborated on as director and actor.
Rajinikanth had a major turning point in his life when K. Balachander discovered and offered him a role in 1975 film Apoorva Raagangal. Read part 1 of superstar’s journey ahead of his 73rd birthday.