for many films including Annaamalai (1992) and Baashha (1995); the latter was the biggest commercial success in his career yet as well as the highest-grossing film in Tamil for many years.[20] His other success includes P. Vasu's Mannan (1992), Uzhaippali (1993) and K. S. Ravikumar's Muthu (1995) and Padayappa (1999); the latter, which went on to become his and Tamil cinema's highest-grossing movie, exceeding Baashha.[21]

After a few years of hiatus, Rajinikanth returned to acting with the comedy horror film Chandramukhi (2005); it went on to become the highest-grossing Tamil film of all time. His next, S. Shankar's Sivaji (2007) was the third Indian film and the first ever Tamil film to enter the 100 Crore Club. He then played dual role as a scientist and an andro-humanoid robot in the science fiction film Enthiran (2010) and its sequel 2.0 (2018), both being India's most expensive productions at the time of their release and among the highest-grossing Indian films of all time.[d] His action films Jailer (2023) and Coolie (2025) became major commercial success in Tamil cinema, making him the only actor in the industry with three films surpassing the ₹500 crore mark.[23]

Known for his uniquely styled mannerism and one liners in films, he has a huge fan base and a cult following, he has won numerous film awards, including the National Film Award, eight Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, a Nandi Award, a Filmfare Award and two Maharashtra State Film Awards.[24] Rajinikanth was named one of the most influential persons in South Asia by Asiaweek.[25][26] He was also named by Forbes India as the most influential Indian of the year 2010.[27]