Some regard him as the greatest actor ever lived while his die-hard fans consider him ‘god’. Megastar Rajnikanth, who will be contesting next assemby elections, has time and again proved out to be one of the most popular actors of the Indian film industry. But what has made this actor a megastar and earned him a massive fan base is the list of his filmography.

Beginning his career in 1975, the megastar has appeared in more than 150 multi-lingual films, which has made him the man he is today. From doing to negative roles to becoming a people’s man, Rajinikanth has done it all that has in-turn stretched his stature as a megastar of the Indian film industry.

As a tribute to the actor, thestatesman.com brings five blockbusters of the actor that elevated his stardom.

Billa

The film was an official remake of Bollywood film, Don, and stars Rajnikanth in a dual role. The film is specially mentioned as a “turning point” in the actor’s life as he proved his critics wrong, who called him a finished actor after a string of flops at the box office. Billa was a commercial success and was among the highest grossing Tamil films in 1980. The success of the film established Rajinikanth as the top star of Southern cinema overtaking Kamal Haasan.

Muthu

The film starring Rajnikanth and Meena in the lead was a major success of 1995 amid much fanfare and hype as during this time, Rajinikanth was hailed as one of the most respected and popular actors of the Indian film industry. The film became one of the longest running Tamil films (175 days) in theatres across Tamil Nadu. The film also fetched Rajinikanth a Tamil Nadu State Award for Best Actor.

Chandramukhi

The film, which was released on the eve of Tamil New Year, received critical acclaim and was a massive box office success. It was the longest running South Indian film with a theatrical run of 890 days! Rajinikanth’s stardom forced the makers to release the film in multi-languages even in German and Turkish. The film is one of the few films of Southern Cinema that earned more than Rs.100-crore at the box office worldwide.

Sivaji

Who would have thought that Rajinikanth would be entering politics after 10 years of Sivaji. A film based on fighting against corruption, it featured the actor in a dynamic role and was a huge success in the actor’s life. The film is very popular for the actor’s style and dialogues. The film became the first Indian film to use Dolby Atmos surround sound technology. Rajnikanth charged Rs.26 crore as his fees, which made him the second highest paid actor in Asia after Jackie Chan.

Enthiran (Robot)

One of the most expensive films of the film industry starring Rajnikanth and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. The actor featured in dual role, one as a scientist and the other being an android robot. During the time of release, the film became the highest grossing film of 2010 and is still the fourth highest grossing film of Southern cinema. The film was so successful that the makers decided to spawn a sequel titled, 2.0, which will release in 2018. Rajnikanth was widely appreciated for his performance as Chitti (robot).

Kabali

A gangster-drama film revolving around gang wars between Kabaleeswaran (Rajnikanth) and the antagonist, Tony Lee. The film was released on 3,200 screens in India and had the largest opening weekend for any Indian film worldwide. Kabali is one of the highest grossing films in the actor’s career as the film grossed Rs.300 crore (approx. Fans and critics alike have regarded Kabali as the most dynamic performance of the actor in recent years