Still from the movie Justice Gopinath (1978) showing Rajinikanth, Sivaji and K.R. Vijaya from left to right. The movie was Rajinikanth’s first alongside veteran Sivaji Ganesan.

Justice Gopinath (1978) was Rajinikanth’s first film with Sivaji Ganesan. It was directed by the veteran D. Yoganand. Yoganand was born in Madras under British India in the year 1922. He is believed to have taken part in the 1942 Quit India Movement as a freedom fighter. He started his career as an assistant editor to Maickyam for the Telugu film Mayalokam (1945) before directing the Telugu film Ammalakkalu (1953). His first Tamil film was Marumagal (1953). Yoganand was multi-talented as he was trained in Radiology and had very good photography skills. Yoganand joined Jiten Benarjee of Newtone Studios, a noted cameraman of that time. Later, he also worked with another popular cameraman of the time, Rehman, before Mayalokam.