4 min readKochiJun 17, 2026 08:07 PM IST Even though Sridevi and Rajinikanth eventually emerged as bigger box-office forces, they themselves have often admitted that Kamal Haasan was the one they looked up to in the early phases of their careers. In fact, when the former two were slowly finding their footing in Tinseltown, Kamal was already a superstar, having made his mark in both the Tamil and Malayalam industries and built a massive fan base across South India. The Kamal Haasan connection in Sridevi and Rajinikanth’s debuts Interestingly, both Sridevi and Rajinikanth began their careers alongside Kamal Haasan. While Sridevi, who was already an established child artiste in South India, made her debut as a female lead in Moondru Mudichu (1976) opposite Kamal, Rajinikanth made his first-ever feature film appearance in Apoorva Raagangal (1975), which was also headlined by Kamal. Fascinatingly, both movies were helmed by director K Balachander. Don’t Miss | Kamal Haasan’s 15-year dream turned into a Rs 300 cr disaster despite a GOAT at the helm When she made her debut …