Rajinikanth, widely known as the Superstar of Indian cinema is a Tamil film actor who turns 73 today. The longevity of his relevant career as one of Kollywood's top star actors with a significant box-office pull, as the MZ generation would say 'needs to be studied'. As we head towards 2024, here is a look back at 15+ must watch movies of Rajinikanth that may have been left behind in the last 13+ years. For the purposes of this specificity, Rajini movies from 2011-2023 have not been included in the following list. 

1. Billa (1980) [OTT: Amazon Prime Video]

It is no secret that Rajinikanth was a bus conductor before joining the movies and played villain roles before he became a full fledged lead actor. If these benchmarks were turning points in Rajinikanth's career, Billa was also one in terms of saving/revamping the star's Tamil film career. At a time when Rajini was being written off the Kollywood market, Billa turned the tables upside down by running for a whopping 25 weeks in theaters of Tamil Nadu. The action movie is a remake of the Hindi film Don (1978), which revolves around a powerful ganglord and his simpleton lookalike. 

2. Thillu Mullu (1981) [OTT: Amazon Prime Video]

If Rajini followed Billa's success with a whole lot of angry young man roles in action movies, Thillu Mullu marked the break of this streak. Another remake of a 70s Hindi movie (Golmaal), Thillu Mullu revolves around Aiyampettai Arivudainambi Kaliyaperumal Chandran, who to save himself from getting fired lies to his boss that he has a twin brother named Indran. This comedy is not just a classic but is often referenced when Rajinikanth - the performer is the topic of discussion. 

3. Mannan (1992) [OTT: Amazon Prime Video, Jio Cinema]

A remake of the 1986 Kannada movie Anuraga Aralithu, which was based on the novel Anuragada Anthapura by H. G. Radhadevi, Mannan was another Rajinikanth starrer that ran for over 25 weeks in Tamil Nadu theatres. The movie revolves around the circumstances that force the union leader of a factory to marry his rich boss with ulterior motives.   

4. Arunachalam (1997) [OTT: Jio Cinema - Arunachalam Telugu]

The whole point of revisiting Rajinikanth movies with this list is so that young moviebuffs can catch the films on OTT. However Rajini fans who have tried streaming Arunachalam over the last 5 years have had no luck finding the digital version of the film (atleast in its original Tamil version). This comes across as a disappointment, especially since the movie with three state awards to its credit revolves around an interesting plot of how an orphan, abandoned by his foster family and those around, learns of his multi-billionaire birth father and a bizzare challenge left by him to inherit his wealth. 

I still can't find the original tamil version on Amazon, hotstar, zee5, sunnxt or YouTube. I don't know where else to find.

— Chetan B K (@ChetanBK007) May 28, 2021

Arunachalam is loosely based on the 1902 novel Brewster's Millions by George Barr McCutcheon.

5. Annamalai (1992) [OTT: Amazon Prime Video] 

Some of the best Rajinikanth films have been Hindi film remakes, and Annamalai was adapted from the 1987 Hindi film Khudgarz, which in turn based on Jeffrey Archer's 1979 novel Kane and Abel. Annamalai ran in theaters for 175 days, and was the highest-grossing film in Tamil cinema until Rajinikanth's Baasha broke the record in 1995. As of 2023, the highest-grossing Tamil film is also a Rajinikanth starrer titled 2.0, and the movie has held the record since 2018. 

An action drama, Annamalai revolves around a milkman and his rich best friend Ashok. Ashok's father disapproves of their thick friendship once they turn adults, and successfully creates a rift between the two. 

6. Baashha (1995) [OTT: Amazon Prime Video, Google Play] 

The story of Baashha was adapted from a scene meant for the 1991 Hindi film Hum (but was never filmed), along with the Bollywood film's core plot and key elements. Rajinikanth played a small role in Hum, and he is said to have pointed Suresh Krissna writer, director of Baashha towards this development. Baashha is one Rajinikanth's most successful films, and had a 15 month (1 year 3 month) run in theaters.

Baashha revolves around auto rickshaw driver Manickam, who is a man who avoids violence at all costs. However, when his brother, a cop, gets into trouble with some goons, it triggers a set of events that revive Manickam's old self.

7. Thalapathi (1991) [OTT: Amazon Prime Video]

A 1991 Diwali release, Thalapathi written and directed by Mani Ratnam marked the first (and last) collaboration between the filmmaker and Rajinikanth. Not just a commercial success, Thalapathi has high critical acclaim to its credit, and the movie is based on the friendship between the Mahabharata characters Karna and Duryodhana. 

8. Padayappa (1999) [OTT: Amazon Prime Video]

Padayappa was the highest grossing Tamil film of 1999 because of the being the first Tamil film to release worldwide with 210 prints and 700,000 audio cassettes. The revenge drama written and directed by KS Ravikumar, revolves around how the son of a family who is humiliated by an uncle and forced to leave their home, restores his family's honour through hardwork and stroke of luck. He later faces the wrath of old enemies who continue to stir problems in his life.

9. Enthiran (2010) [OTT: Sun Nxt] 

Also a dual role Rajinikanth movie, Enthiran written and directed by Shankar is one of Indian cinema's revolutionary science fiction films. A prequel to the highest grossing Tamil film 2.0 (2018), Enthiran was the highest grosser of 2010. The film revolves around Vaseegaran and his genius creation Chitti, a unique robot programmed to feel human emotions.

Enthiran set one too many bench-marks for Tamil/Indian cinema in terms of prosthetic-makeup, animatronics and other visual effects, among other things. 

10. Mullum Malarum (1978) [OTT: Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, Aha] 

This was a breakthrough film in Rajinikanth's career as it established him as a full-time hero. Rajinikanth's role as Kaali, who gets into a dispute with his superior, eventually loosing his arm is to-date considered a milestone movie, in the history if Tamil cinema. 

Mullum Malarum is partly based on Uma Chandran's novel of the same name, which was serialised in the Tamil magazine Kalki in 1966. The movie is written and directed by Mahendran. 

11. Murattu Kaalai (1980) [OTT: YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Aha, Google Play] 

Murattu Kaalai was the film that was instrumental in establishing Rajinikanth an action hero and the Superstar that he is known today for. Written by Panchu Arunachalam, and directed by by S. P. Muthuraman, the movie revolves around Kaalaiyan, an honourable villager who, despite being wealthy, chooses to live modestly while Sundaravelu, a less honourable man from the neighbouring village, tries to grab Kaalaiyan's land.

12. Johnny (1980) [OTT: Amazon Prime Video]

Featuring Rajinikanth in dual roles, Jhonny revolves around the eponymous con artist who is implicated for a crime committed by Vidyasagar, a lookalike barber. The movie is a box-office anomaly in terms of disappointing audiences in the first two weeks of its theatrical run, picking up in the thirs and ending up running in theaters for 100 days. 

13. Moondru Mugam (1982) [OTT: MX Player -  Moondru Mugam Hindi Dubbed] 

Moondru Mugam was one of the first Tamil films to have the lead play a triple role. Rajinikanth's portrayal of a police officer named Alex Pandian, Arun and John, continues to be an inspiration for modern Tamil cinema. The movie was a huge blockbuster during its time and ran for 250 days in theaters. 

14. Netrikkan (1981) [OTT: Amazon Prime Video] 

The film's story and dialogues were written by Visu and the movie's screenplay, direction was handled by K. Balachander. Netrikann stars Rajinikanth in a double role as a womanizer father and a son who teams up with one of his victims to teach his father a lesson and mend his ways. 

15. Adhisaya Piravi (1988) [OTT: Amazon Prime Video]

The only movie on this list which is a box-office failure, Adhisaya Piravi is a remake of the 1988 Telugu movie Yamudiki Mogudu. Athisaya Piravi stars Rajinikanth as Kaalayan, who is killed by goons. In heaven, he opposes and gets sent back in the body of another Rajinikanth named Balu, and fixes both his and own problems. 

16. Muthu (1995) [OTT: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, Google Play] 

Rajinikanth plays dual roles in this movie, which revolves around how an estate owner and his worker fall for the same woman, setting the stage for a love triangle, a murder plot and a resurgence of secrets from the past. Muthu was a Diwali release, and a run-away hit in theaters. A dubbed Japanese version titled Muthu Odoru Maharaja was released in 1998, and became the highest-grossing Indian film in Japan until it was surpassed by RRR in 2022.

Muthu sparked a short-lived boom of Indian films released in Japan and helped Rajinikanth, Meena gain a large fan following there. This KS Ravikumar directorial with AR Rahman for music re-released in theaters in December, 2023.