Basha was one of Rajnikanth's [Images] biggest hits. He played a don in Mumbai in one half of the film and an autodriver in Chennai in the other half. His one-liners, especially Naan orutharam sonnal noorutharam sonna maathiri (If I say it once, it is equivalent to saying it a 100 times), is still quoted by his fans.

Rajni was paired opposite Nagma, one of the top heroines in the South at the time. 

And even though the actress rarely does South movies any more -- she's busy with Bhojpuri cinema -- she says that acting with Rajni was a great experience. "He is the best actor I have acted with," she says. "He is so stylish; no one else can be as stylish as him. He has created his own niche in style. He is unique in that aspect."

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She also finds him very humble. "He has no starry airs," she adds. "Being down-to-earth is good for any actor. In his case, it is very special because he is not only an actor, he is a superstar."

Nagma recalls a time when she was on the sets with Rajni in Hyderabad. The actress, who usually busied herself with knitting or reading in between shots, was once practicing her lines animatedly. She was not aware of the people around her. Suddenly, she realised that Rajni had been observing her for a while with an amused expression. He had not disturbed her while she rehearsed.

Once he had told her that he became her fan since he saw her in the song Gopala Gopala in Kaadhalan. Kaadhalan, which was a huge hit, had Nagma opposite Prabhu Deva.

On another occasion, he told her jokingly, 'Don't look into my eyes, your eyes are so enigmatic that they distract me.'