Superstar Rajinikanth is one of the most loved actors in Tamil cinema. The actor who hailed from a humble beginning, started as a bus conductor and sustained in the film industry as an actor since the 70s. Rajinikanth's first Deepavali release is 'Aval Appadithan' in 1978 where he played the antagonist against Kamal Haasan. Now 43 years later, the actor has his much-awaited festive release during Deepavali 2021. Check out Superstar Rajinikanth's best Deepavali releases of all time:

Anaathhe - 2021




Thalaivar Rajinikanth's highly anticipated 'Annaathhe' received mixed reviews upon its release in November 2022. The film starring Rajinikanth, Nayanthara, and Keerthi Suresh marked the actor's festive release that happened after 26 years. Rajinikanth's previous Deepavali release was 'Muthu' in the year 1995.

Muthu - 1995




'Muthu' is one of Superstar Rajinikanth's evergreen movies that was released in 1995. The film directed by KS Ravikumar turned into a blockbuster hit not only in Tamil Nadu, but also in Japan. The film was released in conjunction with the Deepavali festival, alongside other films including Kamal Haasan's 'Kuruthipunal', Vijay's 'Chandralekha', Sarath Kumar's 'Ragasiya Police', Mammootty's 'Makkal Aatchi', and Pandiarajan's 'Neelakuyil'.

Thalapathi - 1991




'Thalapathi' is one of the best films of Superstar Rajinikanth! Besides Rajinikanth, actors Shobana, Bhanupriya, Sri Priya, Arvindasamy and Mammootty played significant roles in the film which was released in conjunction with Deepavali 1991. 'Thalapathi' marked the very first collaboration of actor Rajinikanth and prominent filmmaker Mani Ratnam.

Mappillai - 1989




Actor Rajinikanth's 'Mappillai' hit the screens in conjunction with Deepavali 1989 and saw a successful theatrical run of 200 days. The movie is a remake of Chiranjeevi's Telugu hit 'Attaku Yamudu Ammayiki Mogudu', and the actor even made a cameo appearance in this film.

Manithan - 1987




'Manithan' was released for Deepavali 1987 which was directed by SP Muthuraman, one of Rajinikanth's all-time favourite directors. The movie had a face-off with Kamal Haasan starrer 'Nayakan' during its release and both films manage to succeed at the box office.