WHY IS HOLI A SPECIAL DAY FOR RAJINIKANTH?

It's a known fact that Rajinikanth's original name was Sivaji Rao Gaikwad and it is said that on a Holi festival day in 1975, director K.Balachander rechristened his name as Rajinikanth for the star's debut Tamil film Apoorva Raagangal.

It must be recalled that in an event celebrating 40 years of the Director's Union in 2010, which was shortly referred as D40, there was an interesting segment (interview session) where Rajinikanth and K Balachander interacted like a teacher and a student.

One of the interesting questions was when K Balachander asked Rajini, "Do you still remember the day I named you Rajinikanth?" for which Rajinikanth instantly replied, "Yes, It was a Holi eve". Director K Balachander hit back again with a question, "You used to call me every year on the Holi day to talk about this, but stopped doing it in the recent years. Why?".

Superstar apologized with a smile and gave a reason that he must have been busy. That was easily one of the most memorable interviews of Rajinikanth and K Balachander. So it is 42 years of Rajinikanth, the name that will be irreplaceable in the history of Tamil Cinema.