During Rajinikanth’s early days, the biggest challenge his mentor faced was the actor’s speed. If the scene required Rajini to walk across a hall, iconic director K. Balachander would repeatedly shout at him, “Medhuva, medhuva” (slowly!) so the camera could pan him leisurely. Yet the actor would have whizzed past, leaving the cameraman shake his head and throw up his hands calling for a retake.