Rajinikanth
The
superstar
remembers
clearly
his
time
of
flux
before
he
joined
the
BTS
in
the
book.
"I'm
an
ordinary
person.
Before
I
was
a
bus
conductor,
I
was
an
office
boy,
a
coolie,
a
carpenter," he
recalls.
It
was
at
the
BTS
that
Shivaji
met
the
person
who
he
describes
today
as
his
best
friend
-
Raja
Bahadur.
Rajinikanth
After
duty,
he
and
Bahadur
would
go
to
their
respective
homes
and
rest
for
a
while.
The
actor
would
make
his
way
over
to
Bahudur's
home
in
Hanumanthnagar
every
evening
and
they
would
go
to
rehearse
for
the
plays
they
acted
in
from
time
to
time
which
were
organised
under
the
aegis
of
the
BTS
Association.
Rajinikanth
Rehearsals
were
in
a
hall
next
to
the
Chamrajpet
police
station
and
would
go
on
from
5
pm
till
8
pm.
After
that,
they
would
walk
over
to
the
market
in
Kalasipalyam
and
have
a
few
drinks.
"He
would
drink
arrack
and
I
would
drink
beer,"
recalls
Badhar.
After
drinking
they
would
walk
back
and
eat
dinner
at
their
respective
homes.
Rajinikanth
The
long
conversations
that
the
friends
had
were
almost
exclusively
about
cinema.
They
would
watch
almost
every
film
that
released
each
week,
with
Rajinikanth
continuing
to
enjoy
Sivaji
Ganesan,
Rajkumar
and
MGR
starrers.
After
watching
the
movies,
he
would
enact
scenes
in
the
manner
of
these
stars.
Rajinikanth
Paying
tribute
to
the
late
Ganesan,
Rajinikanth
says,
"I
watched
him,
I
imitated
him.
He
is
the
reason
I
am
in
the
cinema
industry."
He
also
acknowledges
the
role
theatre
played
in
shaping
his
acting
career.
"The
stage
is
my
mother,"
he
adds.
Rajinikanth
"When
I
was
a
conductor,
after
I'd
acted
in
more
than
25
plays,
my
friends,
the
drivers
and
other
conductors
asked
me
why
I
shouldn't
go
into
cinema.
You'll
become
a
famous
villain,
they
said.
They
gave
me
a
boost.
Rajinikanth
Rajini
claims,
"But
I
didn't
know
what
to
do,
as
I've
never
liked
to
ask
anyone
for
any
favours.
And
what
would
I
say
to
anyone,
as
I'm
not
good-looking.
With
what
background
could
I
ask
anybody
for
a
chance?
If
I
would
tell
them
that
I'm
a
conductor,
please
give
me
a
chance,
would
they,"
the
book
quotes
him.
Rajinikanth
Bahudur
and
Rajinikanth's
other
friends
advised
him
to
enroll
in
the
newly
formed
Madras
Film
Institute.
It
was
sound
advice
as
Madras
was
the
epicentre
of
the
south
Indian
film
industry
then.
At
the
time,
Rajinikanth
knew
only
a
smattering
of
Tamil,
having
picked
up
a
few
words
from
watching
movies
and
from
friends.
"He
asked
me
for
my
permission
to
join
the
institute,"
says
Rajini's
elder
brother
Satyanarayana.
Rajinikanth
"I
told
him
not
to
worry
about
the
family.
He
should
come
up
in
life
with
his
acting.
And
with
the
blessing
of
Lord
Raghavendra,
we
decided
to
send
him."
Thus,
Rajinikanth,
then
Shivaji
Rao,
decided
to
join
the
Madras
Film
Institute,
taking
casual
leave
and
later
unauthorised
leave
from
the
BTS,
not
wanting
to
lose
the
security
blanket
of
a
government
job
should
he
not
make
it
in
the
world
of
cinema.
Rajinikanth
K
Balachander
did
not
cast
about
long
for
a
screen
name
for
Shivaji
Rao;
he
chose
a
character
name
from
his
own
film,
Major
Chandrakanth.
AVM
Rajan
had
played
a
character
named
Rajinikanth
in
the
film,
and
Balachander
christened
Shivaji
Rao
with
this
name.
And
thus
was
born
Rajinikanth,
soon
to
be
a
household
name.
The
name
literally
means
'colour
of
night';
it
was
a
comment
on
the
colour
of
Shivaji
Rao's
skin.