Alumni of the prestigious Madras Film Institute (initially known as the Adyar Film Institute and now the MGR Government Film and Television Training Institute), legendary actor-filmmaker Sreenivasan and ‘Superstar’ Rajinikanth shared a warm bond. Although Rajinikanth was a year senior to Sreenivasan, they became friends in no time and have shared fond memories of one another many times.While anyone who has heard the name Rajinikanth is also familiar with his humble beginnings and his stint as a bus conductor with the Bangalore Transport Service, Sreenivasan once revealed a lesser-known story from the superstar’s past. What’s more intriguing is that it was a story of lost love — one that played a key role in making Shivaji Rao Gaekwad the Rajinikanth we know today, but also left a lifelong wound in his heart.ICYMI | ‘Extremely poor’ Rajinikanth refused to give up bus conductor ‘sarkari’ job, friend’s support made him India’s biggest superstarMentioning that Rajinikanth originally narrated this story to Malayalam actor Devan, with whom the superstar worked in the iconic gangster movie Baashha (1995), Sreenivasan told Kaumudy, “It was almost like a sequence straight out of a movie. One day, a girl tried to enter through the back door of the bus in which he worked as a conductor. Seeing this, he asked her to enter through the front door. An argument broke out between them over that. However, eventually, they fell in love.”‘Rajinikanth’s family lived in a small house’During those days, Shivaji Rao often acted in plays during his free time. “One day, he told her that a play, in which he was also performing, was being staged that evening and invited her to see it. She went and was amazed by his performance. Subsequently, she came across the institute’s advertisement and told him, ‘You should go and study there. You are so talented; you shouldn’t waste it by not trying.’ He immediately refused, pointing out that his job was his family’s only source of income. He had a large family, and they lived in a small house. One of my friends had seen his house once. But she (his lover) kept insisting, mentioning that he had a bright future in cinema. She kept encouraging him, saying, ‘Don’t worry about the money; I’ll somehow arrange it for you.’ Due to her persistent encouragement, he finally agreed,” Sreenivasan added.ICYMI | Who is Riya Shibu, the 21-year-old producer of Vikram’s actioner, now winning hearts with her performance in Nivin Pauly’s Sarvam Maya?Despite the risk, particularly since he didn’t know where the money would come from, Rajinikanth finally joined the institute. “Initially, she was the one sending him the money. It was only after that, I think, that the situation arose where his friends had to send money.” While he was pursuing the dream inspired by her, tragedy struck Shivaji Rao when she vanished from his life completely.Story continues below this adThe actor-filmmaker added, “What happened was that one day she completely disappeared from his life without a trace. I think, or rather Rajinikanth believes, her family found out about her relationship with a poor man like him. So they took her away to a place where he wouldn’t even have her address. With tears in his eyes, Rajinikanth told Devan, ‘I really hope to see her at least once in this lifetime.’ Although it’s easy for her to find Rajinikanth, she might have moved on with her life. She might be afraid that meeting again could disrupt their lives and cause problems.”‘Why hasn’t she come for me?’Devan himself once shared the story with Manorama News, revealing her name was Nirmala and that she was an MBBS student. Mentioning that Rajinikanth left Bengaluru with the Rs 500 she had given him, Devan stated that, upon noticing no contact from Nirmala, Rajinikanth rushed back, looking for her. “However, no one knew where she had gone. Though the actor went to her house, it was locked. The neighbors too didn’t have any idea about the family. All they could say was that Nimmy’s family had moved to a different place.”Devan quoted Rajinikanth as telling him, “Today, I am an actor; yet she hasn’t come looking for me. It is my Nimmy (Nirmala) whom I look for wherever I go, be it the Himayala or America. I look for her in the crowds. Devan, why hasn’t she come for me? Why doesn’t she want to see me, even after I have achieved all these?”