Superstar Rajinikanth is one such a perfect example for ‘rags to riches’ story. Well, the superstar had to really struggle during his pre – stardom era, and once requested Balachandra Menon to help him. The incident took place, when Balachandra Menon was a journalist and Rajinikanth was still a cinema student. Rajinikanth once approached Balachandra Menon and requested to write something about him. The superstar had approached Balachandra Menon with the hope that Menon’s article about him would help him to find a space in Malayalam cinema. However, Balachandra Menon was unable to make it happen, as the editors of the media house, in which he worked back then, turned the material down.
However, as it happened, Sivaji Rao Gaekwad managed to star as antagonist in K Balachander’s ‘Apoorva Raagangal’, which starred Kamal Hassan and Sreevidya in the lead roles. During the set, Sreevidya, however predicted to Balachandra Menon that the Sivaji Rao Gaekwad would surely be a superstar sometime later. It was during the program ‘Filmy Friday’, which Balachandra Menon revealed his relationship with Rajinikanth.