Ajith, Vijay or Vikram? Suresh Krissna names actor who could replace Rajinikanth in Baasha remake

If we were to conduct a cheeky little survey among all the many million Rajinikanth fans about that one film that got them hooked to the superstar, you will probably the title 'Baasha' cropping up quite frequently. No doubt that the 72-year-old actor's career brims with an enviably long list of cult lists but there's no denying that Baasha commands that special place in the hearts of his admirers. 

The fact that the line "Naan oru thadavai sonna nooru thadavai sonna madhiri", from the film, has been rehearsed and uttered not just by Rajinikanth's Tamil fans but mainly by those who do not even speak the language is testament enough to the legacy it has to its name today.

Baasha, written and directed by Suresh Krissna, released on 12 January 1995, and ran for as many as 15 months in theatres, becoming one of Rajinikanth's biggest blockbusters to that point in time. But beyond that, the film has aged over the years as a cultural phenomenon with Rajini's character of Manikam, a humble auto-driver who reveals his volcanic interior after being bullied and harassed, remains one of the actor's most relatable characters to date. 

Baasha also stars Nagma, Raghuvaran, Janagaraj, Devan, Shashi Kumar and others with Deva scoring the music. 

"If Baasha had to be remade today with a superstar..."

Could Baasha be remade today? Could the cult classic be tampered with? Well, the first response would be a firm NO, should you ask the hardcore fans, but to humour ourselves, who could potentially replace Rajinikanth in that iconic role and attempt to recreate the magic? The same question was posed to Suresh Krissna, the man himself, at a public event where he spoke with great candour to reveal his choice of a modern superstar.

"Basically, you need a superstar image," said the revered filmmaker right off the bat, adding that the whole aura of a superstar is what makes Baasha work so well. "It's the play of the image, in essence. You hold back that 'image' entirely in the first half - 'why is he not fighting?', 'why is he not hitting back? and 'why is he fearful?'. This ploy works well with an actor who has that image and when you offer that 'blast' around interval and present him as that anti-hero in the second half, it works," added Suresh Krissna.

And when it came to the golden question of which of the modern Tamil superstars to take on the Baasha mantle, he said, "There's a big list (of contenders) but one good actor who will come nearest to this is Ajith sir," as he drew a huge cheer and applause from the audience.

Not many would know that Ajith Kumar and Suresh Krissna were meant to work on a film in 2002 named 'Vamana', but that project would eventually be stalled due to unknown reasons.