Rajini came to Bengaluru and told me that Balachander asked him to learn Tamil but did not say anything else. I told him if such a big director has said it there is something ahead. As I know Tamil, from then onwards, we decided to speak only in Tamil. In the next two months, Rajinikanth was able to speak Tamil fluently. The next time when Rajini met the director, Balachander told him that he had a role but said since he does not know Tamil, it would not be possible to cast him. Immediately, Rajini replied to him in Tamil saying he knew the language and Balachander was stunned by his ability to learn the language in just two months. And he got the role in Apoorva Raagangal in 1975. Since then, he never looked back and the rest is history.”
Rajinikanth and Raj Bahadur