Rajinikanth pays surprise visit to bus depot where he worked as a bus conductor

The 72-year-old top actor took everyone by surprise and spent a few minutes with overjoyed BMTC drivers, conductors and other staff at the bus stand at Jayanagar.

Shivaji Rao Gaikwad was once working as bus conductor in this city, before the legendary Tamil director, the late K Balachander spotted him, christened him Rajinikanth and gave the actor his first break in the hit flick 'Aboorva Ragangal' in 1975. The film also starred Kamal Haasan among others. The moment the actor, who is said to have turned nostalgic, made an appearance, the Traffic Transit Management Center (TTMC) staff of the BMTC greeted him and milled around him.

He chatted with them for a while and also posed for selfies. The actor also paid a visit to Raghavendra Swami Math here. Rajinikanth had donned the titular role in the movie 'Sri Raghavendrar', a biography of the 16th-17th century saint-poet of Madhva Sampradaya of Dvaita Vedanta philosophy. Sources said Rajinikanth spent his childhood in Bengaluru, and lived in the city till the age of 22 before shifting to Chennai to pursue his film career.