Rajinikanth is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most popular actors in the history of Indian cinema. His popularity has been attributed to his uniquely styled dialogues and idiosyncrasies in films, His style of flipping the cigarette in the film made him popular among the audience He made his debut in 1975 Tamil drama Apoorva Raagangal,
He is god down south but for actor Rajinikanth, screen legend Amitabh Bachchan is a “role model”, “inspiration” and “guru“. You would be surprised to know that he worked in more than 10 Tamil films that are Amitabh Bachchan's remake. This began with Shankar Salim Simon (1978), a remake of Amar Akbar Anthony (1977), followed by Naan Vazhavaippen (1979), a remake of Majboor (1974). In this blog, I look into the films in which he played Amitabh Bachchan.
Shankar Salim Simon (Amar Akbar Anthony)
This film was released in 1978, Rajnikant played the role of Simon, similar to Anthony played by Amitabh in Amar Akbar Anthony. He remade the Manmohan Desai film again in Telugu, this time as with actors Krishna as Robert, Rajinikanth as Ram and Chandra Mohan as Rahim. Both films were hit.
Naan Vazhavaippen
This film was released in 1979, it was based on the 1974 hit film Majboor, it featured Rajinikanth playing Big B’s part. This film was also remade in Telugu
Billa
This film is a remake of Amitabh's Don(1978). This is one of the most memorable films of Rajnikant. It was a super-duper hit. The success of Billa was a turning point in Rajinikanth's career. Billa established Rajinikanth as the top star of South Indian cinema, overtaking Kamal Haasan.
Thee
1981 saw the release of Thee, a remake of the 1975 Bollywood blockbuster Deewaar, also originally written by Salim-Javed and starring Amitabh Bachchan; in Thee, Rajinikanth reprised the role of Bachchan in the original.
Mr. Bharath
lt is a remake of Trishul (1978), released in 1985. It was also a super hit film. Rajinikanth playing the son who takes revenge from his father for cheating on his mother.
Dharamathin Thalaivan
It is a 1988 Indian Tamil-language action-drama film directed by S. P. Muthuraman, starring Rajinikanth in dual roles, along with Prabhu, Suhasini, Kushboo, Nassar and Captain Raju in other roles. The film is a remake of the 1978 Hindi film Kasme Vaade. Dharmathin Thalaivan became a super hit
Panakkaran
It's a remake of Laawaris (1981). The film was released in 1990. This film ran for more than 200 days and was declared a blockbuster hit film. It was dubbed in Telugu as Kondaveedi Puli Rajinikanth reprised Bachchan’s role
Maaveeran
Maaveeran is a 1986 tamil film. A remake of the 1985 Hindi film Mard, it stars Rajinikanth, Ambika and Jaishankar. Maaveeran was the first in Tamil to be shot in 70 mm film format, and have a six-track stereophonic sound. It was released on 1 November 1986, Diwali day, and failed commercially.
Padikathavan
Padikkadavan is a 1985 Tamil film, starring Sivaji Ganesan, Rajinikanth. It is a remake of the Hindi film Khud-Daar starring Amitabh Bachchan . The film was a huge blockbuster and had a run for more than 250 days. This film is considered as one of the biggest hits for Rajinikanth during the 1980s.
Siva
It was released in 1989, was the remake of Bachchan’s 1977 film Khool Pasina. The film also starred actor-dancer Shobana playing Rekha’s role from the original.The film was dubbed in Telugu as Tiger Shiva.
Velaikkaran
It is a 1987 Tamil-language action comedy film This film is a remake of the 1982 Hindi film Namak Halaal. So faithful was Rajinikanth to the original that it even featured Bachchan’s iconic ‘I can talk English, walk English because English is a very funny language’, of course, with a few changes.
