How Rajinikanth avoids ego: ‘I go to the mountains, clean floors, sleep on the ground’

As Rajinikanth celebrates his 75th birthday today, an old anecdote shared by Chaalbaaz director Pankaj Parashar offers a rare glimpse into the Tamil superstar’s humility, simplicity, and unmatched on-screen instinct.

Speaking to NDTV earlier, Parashar recalled how Rajinikanth, despite being a massive Tamil cinema icon, instantly understood that Chaalbaaz was centred around Sridevi. “Rajinikanth is incredibly sharp,” he said. “He realised Chaalbaaz was Sridevi's film. If he played the arrogant, superhero Rajinikanth, it wouldn't work. So, he turned it into a comedy.”

Parashar said Rajinikanth improvised many of the comedic moments that made his character endearing. “He agreed to play the underdog, a man who gets scared, something most superstars would never do. He improvised brilliantly. In the film, he's scared of ghosts and that made him very lovable,” he said. On set, the Tamil superstar would greet Sridevi with a playful “Srideva!” a private joke that became part of their warm rapport.

Off-camera stories reveal even more about Rajinikanth’s simplicity. Parashar said the actor would drive himself to the set in an old Fiat with no assistant or manager. “One day, he offered to drop me off at my hotel. The AC was broken, so I rolled down the window. He immediately said, ‘Don’t do that—if someone sees me, there will be gallatta (chaos).’ I didn’t believe him.”

Within minutes, crowds gathered at a traffic signal after spotting the superstar. “People started shouting ‘Thalaiva!’ Mothers placed babies on the bonnet for blessings. Traffic came to a halt. Police had to intervene. That’s when I truly understood Rajinikanth’s stardom,” he recalled.

Yet, amidst all the adulation, Rajinikanth never allowed fame to cloud his perspective. Parashar revealed a deeply personal ritual the actor follows to stay grounded: “He once told me, ‘People worship me, and that can go to your head. So I go up to the mountains, live in a temple for 10-12 days, clean floors, sleep on the ground, just to stay humble.’”

On his Rajinikanth birthday, fans across India—especially the Tamil film community—are celebrating the icon whose influence continues to shape cinema. Recently, at the closing ceremony of the 56th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa, the superstar received the Lifetime Achievement Award, marking 50 years of Rajinikanth’s legendary Tamil and Indian cinema journey.