Rajinikanth sings for Kochadaiyaan

Tamil superstar Rajinikanth joined in recording a song for Kochadaiyaan. Kochadaiyaan is a 3D film, which is expected to be shot with motion capture. The director of the film is the superstar's daughter - Soundarya Ashwin.

Last month Deepika Padukone was confirmed to play the lead opposite Rajinikanth in the film. So far, the confirmed cast of the film includes Rajinikanth, R. Sarathkumar and Deepika Padukone. Oscar winner A R Rahman (seen in the picture too) will compose the music.

Coming Up: First look of Kochadaiyaan.

Age is no bar for Tamil superstar Rajinikanth, affectionately called Thalaivar, by his fans. At 61, the first look of his new film Kochadaiyaan shows his spectacular six-pack abs.

His younger daughter Soundarya Ashwin, who is also the director of the movie, posted the first look of Kochadaiyaan on Twitter. She later tweeted, ":):) .... Thank you all so much for all the tweets!! Work going on full swing :) god is great!!!"

The 3D film will feature Rajinikanth alongside R Sarathkumar, Deepika Padukone, Sneha, Aadhi, Shobana, Nassar and Jackie Shroff. Oscar winner AR Rahman is the music director of the movie.

A poster from Rajinikanth's next release Kochadaiyaan. This one includes the name of lead heroine Deepika Padukone. This will be Deepika's second chance to debut opposite the superstar after Rana fell through last year.

Coming up: Rajinikanth's first outing in 2012

Megastar Rajinikanth made his first public appearance in 2012. The Thalaivar visited actor and dramatist YG Mahendran's drama show in Chennai.

Rajini was accompanied by his wife Latha Rajinikanth.

Coming up: Thalaivar's 61st birthday

Everything about Rajinikanth is larger-than-life, including his birthday. As 12.12.11 marks the Thalaivar's 61st birthday, super-fans are already looking to next year in glee. Why? That's when the Thalaivar will celebrate his birthday on 12.12.12! Super date, super star, super thrill. With that sweet anticipation, let's catch up with the superstar on this birthday.

The Thalaivar is back! Scores of the Tamil superstar's fans heaved a sigh of relief when they saw their hero come out of the Chennai airport earlier this year. Rajinikanth returned to Chennai more than a month after treatment and rest in Singapore for a kidney ailment.

Largely out of the public eye, Rajinikanth, as revealed by elder daughter Aishwarya, spends his time with her sons, Yathra and Linga. Aishwarya is busy directing her first film 3, with husband Dhanush and Shruti Hasaan in the lead. You would recall 3 immediately for the song Why this Kolaveri Di sung by Dhanush. The song is a rage in India and many parts of the world. Apparently, the Thalaivar is set to do a cameo in the song. Clearly, the frenzy over Why this Kolaveri Di will continue for some more time.

While all appears to be going well for the superstar at present, things were not quite so, a few months ago. Rajinikanth's historical drama, Rana, went on floors only to be shelved when the superstar fell ill and was hospitalized thrice in little over three weeks, starting April 29. He then went to Singapore for more treatment and returned to Chennai in July.

The superstar will now be seen in a 3D film titled Kochadaiyaan, to be directed by younger daughter Soundarya Ashwin, who has earlier made the animated film Sultan with her father. Kochadaiyaan is reportedly a prequel to Rana and filming for Rana will be revived after Kochadaiyan is complete.

Back to happier moments, the legendary actor has also been spotted at high-profile weddings in Tamil Nadu accompanied by his elder daughter Aishwarya.

Despite taking a break from acting, Rajinikanth agreed to do a very special cameo inRA.One, Shah Rukh Khan's ambitious sci-fi flick. He was seen as Chitti, the role made famous by him in his own sci-fi blockbuster, Robot. When he dropped by the sets of RA.One with his daughter Soundarya in tow, SRK tweeted: "RA.One completed today. Rajini sir blessed it. Have tears in my eyes of gratitude and only prayers and love for his whole family. You complete us sir." The two met again in Chennai.

With his health slowly back on track, Rajinikanth, an ardent devotee of Lord Venkateswara, also paid a visit to the temple accompanied by his best friend and Telugu film star, Mohan Babu, and some members of his family.

Ahead: A snapshot of the actor whose fans would say, doesn't just rock the box-office, but owns it.

Rajinikanth, born on December 12, 1949 to a Marathi family in Bangalore, is the fourth child of his parents, Jijabai and Ramojirao Gaekwad, a police constable. He lost his mother at the early age of five. He attended elementary school at the Acharya Paathshala in Basavanagudi, Bangalore and then at the Vivekananda Balaka Sangha.

Rajinikanth struggled a lot during his early age because of his family's low income. Although his mother-tongue is Marathi he has not yet acted in any Marathi films. He worked several small jobs in Bangalore and also attended a theatre for stage plays. Before starting his career in the film industry, he used to practice stunts at the Rama Hanuman Temple at a hill near his house.

Before joining the film industry he worked as a bus conductor for the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation in Bangalore. His charisma and style were noted by the passengers who travelled with him and they gave him suggestions to become an actor.It was during this time that he nurtured his acting interests by performing in various stage plays.

He received India's third highest honour, the Padma Bhushan, for his contribution to Indian cinema in 2000.

He is best known for his mass popularity and appeal, largely drawn from his mannerisms and stylised delivery of dialogue in films. Other than acting, Rajinikanth worked as a screenwriter, film producer, and also a playback singer.

Apart from his film career, he is a philanthropist and also influences politics and opinion in Tamil Nadu.

Rajinikanth joined the Madras Film Institute in 1974. He has acted in over 150 films, which includes Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, English and Bengali language films.

Rajinikanth's first film was in Tamil, where he was cast in a supporting role, debuting as an abusive husband in Apoorva Raagangal in 1975. The film was directed by K Balachander, who Rajinikanth refers to as his "guru" or mentor. He was later favoured in portraying antagonistic characters and gradually rose to acting in lead roles.

The following year, Rajinikanth acted in his first Kannada film, Katha Sangama, directed by Puttanna Kanagal. Though Rajinikanth refers to director K Balachander as his mentor, it was director SP Muthuraman who actually revamped Rajinikanth's image. Muthuraman first experimented with him in a positive role in Bhuvana Oru Kelvikkuri (1977), as a villain in the first half of the film and a protagonist in the second.

These films were the turning points in Rajinikanth's career; he changed from an actor who merely enthralled the audiences to one who could also evoke emotions. The acceptance of Rajinikanth sans his stylised mannerisms proved he had at last become a "star" from a "common actor."

His film roles were mainly as a villain during 1975 to 1977, co-starring frequently with Kamal Haasan as the protagonist, in movies like 16 Vayadhinilae, Moondru Mudichu and Avargal.

Rajinikanth made his Bollywood debut with Andha Kanoon but the film didn't do well at the box office. Despite his Bollywood debacle, he was seen in several Hindi films, including Chaalbaaz, Uttar Dakshan, Geraftaar and Hum.

But then came a phase when Rajini abruptly chose to quit acting, but then was coaxed back by family, friends and fans. He continued acting with the blockbuster Tamil film Billa, which was a remake of Big B's superhit film Don. With its phenomenal success he was accepted as a full-fledged hero. Billa was followed by a row of hits, namely Murattu Kaalai, Pokkiri Raja, Thanikattu Raja, Naan Mahaan Alla, Pudukavithai and Moondru Mugam.

K Balachander's first home production, Netrikan proved to be yet another milestone in Rajini's career. He acted in his first cameo role alongside Meena Durairaj, who was a child actor then, in the movie Anbulla Rajinikanth. (1984). More box-office hits dominated the 1980's with Padikkathavan, Thee, Velaikaran, Dharmathin Thalaivan, Mr. Bharath, and Maaveeran.

In his 100th film, Sri Raghavendra, he played the Hindu saint Raghavendra Swami.

He starred in the 1988 American film Bloodstone, which released with much fanfare in India, but went unnoticed in the United States.

The movies released during the 90s included Thalapathy, Mannan, Annamalai, Uzhaippali, Veera, Muthu, Arunachalam and Padayappa. Rajinikanth wrote his first screenplay and acted as a special appearance in the film Valli (1993). His film Baashha was released in 1995.

After more than a three-year sabbatical from cinema, at the age of 52, he starred in his home production, Baba (2002). The screenplay revolved around the story about a gangster who later engages in spirituality. It fell short of market expectations and the high bids reportedly translated to heavy losses for the distributors which Rajinikanth repaid.

Rajinikanth chose to act in director P. Vasu's Tamil remake of Manichithrathazhu, Chandramukhi. Chandramukhi, which released in 2005, went on to create new box office records such as being the longest running Tamil film. Next came Sivaji: The Boss (2007) and it was charted as one of the top-10 Best Films of United Kingdom and South Africa box-offices upon release.

But these hits were followed by a dud Kuselan, a remake of Malayalam film Kadha Parayumbol, in which Rajinikanth played a cameo role as himself, a star in the Indian film industry, and as a best friend to the main character. Some distributors incurred major losses due to the film, for which Rajinikanth voluntarily settled with his own money.

During the course of the production for Sivaji, Ocher Studios, the animation company of Rajinikanth's daughter Soundarya Rajinikanth, in association with Adlabs announced their intention of producing a CGI animation film starring an animated version of Rajinikanth. He lent his voice to the lead character titled Sultan: The Warrior; directed by his daughter Soundarya Rajinikanth with music provided by AR Rahman.

Next came Endhiran (Robot) opposite Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, made at a whopping cost of Rs 200 crore. The film collected Rs 117 crore in the first seven days even surpassing the first-week collection of Bollywood's highest first-week grosser, Dabangg (Rs 82 crore) in 2010.

The superstar has received a gamut of awards for many of his films. Rajinikanth bagged the Filmfare Best Actor(Tamil) award for Nallavanuku Nallavan in 1984 and for Muthu in 1994.

Rajinikanth also received Tamil Nadu State Film Awards in the Best Actor category for his roles in Muthu (1995), Padayappa (1999), Chandramukhi (2005), and Sivaji (2007). He also received numerous awards from Cinema Express and Filmfans' Association for his on-screen performances and off-screen contributions in writing and producing.

The superstar was also named the Entertainer of the Decade at the NDTV Indian of the Year 2010 Awards.

The superstar is married to Latha Rajinikanth. He married her February 26, 1981, at the age of 31 in Tirupati. His elder daughter Aishwarya Rajinikanth is married actor Dhanush and is all set for her directorial debut 3.

His younger daughter, Soundarya Rajinikanth, works in the film industry as a director, producer and graphic designer. She is married to industrialist Ashwin Ramkumar.

In a country that adores it stars, Rajinikanth, even at 62, continues to new standards when it comes to fan following.