As Rajinikanth celebrates his 75th birthday, the stories behind the many milestones that shaped his extraordinary stardom continue to find new resonance. Among these, the creation of the now-legendary “Superstar Rajinikanth” title card stands out as a defining moment, one that altered the way Tamil cinema presented its biggest icon.
Interestingly, the celebrated title card did not begin as a unanimous decision. When director Suresh Krissna was preparing his 1992 blockbuster Annamalai, he wanted the film’s opening to mirror the electrifying energy that Rajinikanth’s very name evoked inside theatres. The filmmaker once recalled in a television interview that he hoped to recreate the frenzy of applause that swept cinema halls whenever the actor’s name appeared on screen. This led him to conceptualise a bold title card, “Superstar Rajinikanth”, accompanied by a thundering musical cue.
Rajinikanth, however, was initially hesitant. According to Krissna, the actor felt that placing such a grand introduction at the beginning of the film might appear self-congratulatory, something he was uncomfortable with. It was mentor and producer K Balachander who eventually persuaded him, reassuring him that the gesture was neither excessive nor inappropriate but rather a celebration of the cultural space he already occupied.
What began as a creative experiment soon became an inseparable part of the Rajinikanth phenomenon. The title card debuted in Annamalai, the first collaboration between Rajinikanth and Suresh Krissna. Their partnership would go on to produce Veera, Baasha, and Baba, with Baasha later earning its place as one of Tamil cinema’s most influential commercial entertainers.
Decades later, the flashing gold letters and the unmistakable musical flourish still spark an instant sense of anticipation among audiences. The story of its origin is a reminder of how a single artistic choice can evolve into a cultural emblem, one that continues to define the aura of “Superstar” Rajinikanth as he marks his milestone 75th year.
