A friend in need is a friend indeed, they say. Raja Bahadur, a retired bus driver, is one trusted friend of Super Star Rajnikanth. Raja Bahadur watched Rajnikanth's much-hyped Sivaji on Friday in Bangalore. He was thrilled. He had no words.

“My dream has come true. He has become a superstar. I am the happiest person in the world today as Sivaji is being released. Maybe I am happier than Rajnikant's wife”, laughs Bahadur.

This enduring friendship began in the early 1970s when Bahadur drove the then Bangalore Transport Service's route Number 10A that plied between Majestic and Srinagar. It was cemented when the two would unwind watching films and plays in their off-duty hours. Young Shivaji Rao would also act in some plays staged at the Gubbi Veeranna Ranga Mandira in Gandhinagar.

It was Bahadur who spotted acting credentials in Rajnikanth and forced him to take up a career in acting.

“The response he got from the audience, particularly when he played Duryodhana and Yechhama Nayaka, the Kannada warrior, was impressive. It was then I thought he should start acting in movies. But Shivaji was not keen”, Bahadur said.

When Shivaji Rao Gaekwad was hesitant at leaving a government job to take up acting, it was Bahadur who gave him the confidence. “I assured him that I would take care of all his financial needs and made him join the institute”, says Bahadur.