Nobody took notice of this newcomer, who was on screen for barely fifteen minutes in a negative role. But it's a worthy film to watch especially for K.Balachandar's direction. The film's hero is non-other than the other superstar; Kamalhassan.
This was the film which vastly changed Rajnikanth's image from an anti-hero to a hero and got many filmmakers notice his talents. It revolves around a caring brother who sacrifices everything to support his family up to the point when he gets older. It turned out to be a box office hit and made him pretty popular among the women.
By the end of the 1970s, Rajinikanth had become a popular actor in Tamil Nadu and due to the media pressure on his fame, he abruptly choose to quit acting. But with advice from his mentor he made a comeback with this film, "Billa", a remake of the Bollywood film "Don" starring Amitabh Bachchan which became a cult classic of that time and was a commercial success. It was a turning point for Rajnikanth which promoted him thus further to the superstar fame.
Playing a dual role as a pair of father and son turned out to be an instant hit and further earned Rajini appreciation from his fans. "Nettrikkan" is an interesting family drama about a son who tries to teach his father a lesson to overcome his bad behavior against woman.
Directed by acclaimed director Mani Rathnam, the film is loosely based on the friendship between Karna and Duryodhana of the Hindu epic, Mahabharata. The film won many cinema awards including best director and best actor for Rajinikanth.
Who can forget the Don who becomes an auto driver and dances to the hit song 'Naan Auto Karran'. The film which was inspired from Amitabh Bachchan's "Hum" was a mega hit and some of its famous dialogues is still remembered by fans around the world, especially; 'Naan Oru thadeve sonna, Nooru thadave sonna marthiri' (translated to, "If I say it once, its equivalent to saying it a hundred times").
The film was a success mainly due to the soundtrack songs by A.R. Rahman, and is also the first Tamil film to be dubbed in the Japanese language in 1998. The film was dubbed in Japanese as "Muthu Odoru Maharaja" (The Dancing Maharaja) which was hit among Japanese audiences and went on to gross ¥200 million at the Japan box office.

After the success of "Muthu", director K.S. Ravikumar once again joined forces with Rajinikanth in "Padaiyappa" which also met huge success at the box office by having the biggest opening ever for a Rajinikanth film for the whole of his career up to that year.
"Chandramukhi" is a horror comedy film which brought Rajinikanth's career back to track after his failure with "Baba". It revolves around an Indian psychiatrist who tries to solve the mystery behind a haunted palace. The film was remade in many languages due to its success mainly due to the good script and comedic timing with lead actors. It was Rajinikanth's third biggest all-time blockbuster and completed a 2 year successful run at the Indian box office. A must watch for those who love the thriller-mystery sort of films!
"Enthiran" is science fiction action film directed by Shankar which was the most expensive Tamil film to produce to date. Rajinikanth plays the dual role as a scientist and a robot in this film which won him the best villain award.

 
Rajinikanth has acted in more than 150 films to date, and above are just a few of his best. Do share with us some of your favorite Rajinikanth films! Happy Birthday Superstar!