Rajinikanth on his famous moniker: I don't know why people call me superstar

Rajinikanth has numerous of pet names and 'superstar' is one among them. The Tamil actor has spoken about it recently and shared his views on how he feels when people refer to him with said the title.

During the press meet of Darbar held in Mumbai, Rajinikanth claimed that the moniker he got in 80s and he himself was not aware of it until he found it in the title cards. "I was shocked to see it. I immediately called the producer and asked him how you bestowed me without letting me know,"

The 69-year old said that he was "embarrassed" to get the title. "I never thought about it. I don't know why people are calling me superstar. I don't know how I am a superstar," he wondered.

Leading producer and distributor Kalaippuli S Thanu, who had given the moniker 'superstar' to Rajinikanth when he distributed Rajini's Bhairavi, which hit the screens in 1978. He recalled about the opposition received from a section when he had announced it in the promotional materials of the flick.

"Many took offence to my usage of the term superstar as bigger stars like MGR and Sivaji Ganesh were still around and they felt a new actor like Rajini did not deserve the title. They approached me to change it. I said I would oblige and the next day I took out another poster announcing 'Greatest Superstar Rajinikanth's Bhairavi,'" Scroll quotes him as saying in an interview during the release of Kabali.

Today, Rajinikanth has many monikers. Like "superstar," he is often called "Thalaivar."

Meanwhile, Rajinikanth, who has completed the dubbing of Darbar, has moved on to his next movie, which is referred to as Thalaivar 168 at this stage, with Siruthai Siva. It is produced by Sun Pictures and will light the screens for Diwali 2020.