Rajinikanth worked as coolie, carpenter, and bus conductor; life-changing dream of godman altered his destiny: 'I have never feared...'

From humble beginnings to superstardom, Rajinikanth’s journey is the stuff of legends. Before he became one of India’s most celebrated actors, he worked as a coolie, carpenter, and bus conductor, facing poverty firsthand. A life-changing dream of a godman not only altered his path but set him on the road to cinematic immortality.During an event, Rajinikanth once shared that before becoming a bus conductor, he worked as an office boy, coolie, and carpenter, growing up in a poor family and experiencing poverty firsthand. Driven to succeed, he never feared challenges—but once, in a moment of despair, he contemplated suicide. A glimpse of a godman in a painting, however, made him postpone that decision.The megastar recounted a dream in which a saint with a white beard appeared across a river. Unable to swim, he ran toward the figure. The next day, he learned the saint was Sri Raghavendra. He visited the mutt, prayed to achieve wealth, and began observing Thursday fasts. His journey then took him from working as a bus conductor to joining the film institute, where director K Balachander noticed him, ultimately paving the way for his stardom.He also shared that in 1978, after achieving stardom, he visited Mantralayam and saw the same river and location from his dream—something he had never seen before. The experience gave him goosebumps, and he credited Sri Raghavendra and the people of Tamil Nadu for his rise from a bus conductor to a superstar standing before audiences in a suit.As a tribute to the Hindu saint, Rajinikanth portrayed the title role in Sri Raghavendrar (1984), which also happened to be the 100th film of his career. Though the movie didn’t perform well at the box office, Rajinikanth has often cited it as one of his personal favorites.