Rajinikanth Confirms Collab With Kamal Haasan, Director Yet To Be Decided

It's official. A Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan reunion on screen is happening after more than four-and-a-half decades. And this time, confirmation came from the Superstar himself.

Rajinikanth, whose latest movie Coolie has now released on streaming platforms, told reporters at the Chennai airport on September 17 that the duo, who have cumulatively acted in more than 400 films over five decades, have been wanting to get act together for a long time now. "There's a plan," he said with a smile in Tamil when queried if the two stars intend to act together.

"Raaj Kamal (Films International) and Red Giant (Movies) will be producing it," he said when pressed further, referring to the production houses owned by Haasan and actor-politician Udhayanidhi Stalin, respectively. He, however, added a caveat: "The right story, characters (supporting cast) and the director are needed."

If this movie goes on floors, it will be the first time in 46 years that the two appear together since Allaudinaum Arputha Vilakkum (Allaudin and the magical lamp), directed by the veteran Malayalam filmmaker IV Sasi. The two actors first appeared together in K Balachander's iconic film Apoorva Raagangal, which was also Rajinikanth's film debut.

Rajinikanth's comments dovetail with those of Haasan, who confirmed their reunion at a recent awards ceremony in Dubai. "We had stayed away only by mutual agreement," he said, giving a humorous analogy why.

"When there was a biscuit, it had to be split between us. And we desired one biscuit each... But now, we've reached a stage where we will be satisfied with half the biscuit. So we've decided to come together," he said, which was met with a thundering response and applause.

Speculation arose last month that the movie starring two of Tamil cinema - and Indian cinema's - biggest stars would go on the floors soon and that Lokesh Kanagaraj, who has delivered hits such as Rajini's Coolie, Leo (2023), the Kamal Haasan-starrer Vikram (2022), Kaithi (2019) and Maangaram (2017), would helm it. However, neither actor are yet to confirm who would direct this magnum opus. The gangster drama Coolie, has collected Rs 5 billion (Dh208.9 million approximately) globally, according to the box office tracker Sacnilk.

Kanagaraj, who has made a name for himself with his fast-paced movies containing memorable emotional arcs, joined a legion of filmmakers to have directed the two, including the veterans K Balachander, Mani Ratnam, SP Muthuraman and KS Ravikumar.

Rajinikanth and Haasan have starred together in nearly 20 movies, at a time when the former was relatively new in the film industry and Haasan was an established star. Some famous movies involving them include Thillu Mulllu, a remake of the iconic Bollywood cult classic Golmaal, Aval Appadithaan, Ninaithale Inikkum and Geraftaar.

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