Did you know Kamal Haasan was approached for Rajinikanth’s 2.0? Here’s why Indian 2 actor turned down the film

Kamal Haasan, the veteran actor is currently enjoying a successful phase in his acting career. The Ulaganayagan who returned to films after a long break in 2022 with the blockbuster movie Vikram, has a massive line-up of upcoming projects. However, the legend turned quite a lot of film offers during his 8-year-long break from films, including the Rajinikanth-starrer 2.0. In a recent interview, director Shankar revealed that he initially wanted to cast Kamal Haasan along with the superstar, in the Enthiran sequel.

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Kamal Haasan turned down Rajinikanth 2.0, reveals Shankar

During a recent promotional interview for his upcoming project Indian 2, Shankar extensively spoke about working with leading man Kamal Haasan. Interestingly, the veteran filmmaker revealed that he was keen to cast Kamal Haasan along with superstar Rajinikanth in the Enthiran sequel 2.0, which hit the theatres in 2018. Interestingly, Shankar approached the multi-faceted talent to play the lead antagonist Pakshi Rajan in the film. However, Kamal Haasan, who was not ready to return to the films due to his busy political career, turned down the offer.

Later, Shankar went on to cast the Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar in the role. For the uninitiated, the Khiladi of Hindi cinema, who made his Tamil debut with 2.0, won hearts with his exceptional performance as Pakshi Rajan, who has a traumatic past. However, the Kamal Haasan fans, now believe that the legend made the right creative choice by letting go of the Rajinikanth-starrer, as it was not a fitting comeback film for him. They strongly believe that Vikram, the Lokesh Kanagaraj directorial was indeed the best comeback vehicle for the Ulaganayagan.

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Kamal Haasan and Shankar’s collaborations

The popular actor-director duo first teamed up in 1996, for the blockbuster movie Indian. Kamal Haasan won the National Film Award for Best Actor for his performance as Senapathy and Chandru in the film, which is now available for streaming on Aha Tamil and OTTplay Premium. Shankar reunited with the Ulaganayagan in 2020 for Indian 2, the sequel of the acclaimed film. After multiple delays, the highly anticipated film is now gearing up to release on July 12, 2024. The third part, Indian 3, will hit the theatres next year.

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