Thalapathy duo to collaborate again?

After 26 years, two of the iconic superstars of the south —Rajinikanth and Mammootty are coming together, not for a Tamil or Malayalam flick, but for a Marathi film titled Pasaayadan. Earlier, the duo shared screen space in Mani Ratnam’s movie Thalapathy, which was loosely based on the friendship, shared by Duryodhana and Karna in Mahabharat.

If reports are to be believed, both Rajini and Mammootty will be making their debut in a Marathi flick, which is bankrolled by producer-politician Balkrishna Surve — the one who got Rajinikanth on board the project. The film will be helmed by debutant Deepak Bhave who had worked as a co-writer on the Marathi film Idak, which was premiered at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) this year in Goa. The film is expected to go on floors in February.

One may recall when they collaborated for the first time in 1991 for Thalapathy, how it turned out to be blockbuster and gained a cult status later. Considering the huge fan following of Rajinikanth in Tamil Nadu and Mammootty in Kerala, it was said that Mani had to shoot two climaxes for the film.  

Meanwhile, there are also speculations that Mammootty might appear in a cameo of BR Ambedkar in Rajini’s next Kaala.  Produced by Rajini’s son-in-law Dhanush under his home banner Wunderbar Films and directed by Kabali fame Pa. Ranjith, the film stars Rajini as a Mumbai-based don. The film also has Eswari Rao, Huma Qureshi and Sakshi Agarwal as part of the star cast.