Rajinikanth has been a megastar in the Tamil movie industry since the 70s. He is one of the highest earning actors in Asia. He has also worked in Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, and English movies. He was born in Bangalore (India), and was employed as a bus conductor before he joined the Madras Film Institute. He made his debut in _Katha Sangama (1975)_ and became a star with _Apoorva Raagangal (1975)_ . His unique acting style is characterized by a trademark gesture: flipping a cigarette in the air and catching it in his mouth. His fans conduct poojas on huge cutouts of Rajnikant just before the launching of his films to ensure his success. His fans collect opening day ticket stubs of his movies and even buy them at exorbitant prices. Directors cannot 'kill off' his character in the movie for fear that the theatre will be burnt down to prevent future runnings of the movie by his 'crazed' fans who consider him almost a god. He is said to "explode like a tiger on screen".