As Padayappa is set to re-release in theatres, Rajinikanth shared a special video, in which he revisited the journey behind his 1999 hit and spoke about how the film’s casting took place. In the video, Rajinikanth shared that he wished to cast Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the role of Neelambari in the film. However, the actor soon got to know about Aishwarya’s disinterest in the project.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW VIDEO
[embedded content]
Talking about the same, he said, “We wanted Aishwarya Rai to do the character of Neelambari. We tried to reach out to her after a lot of difficulties. If she had said yes to the movie, I was willing to wait for even 2–3 years because that character was like that. It was imperative for that role to click – but we heard that she was not interested. Sridevi, Madhuri Dixit and several names were considered. But, we were looking for that power in the heroine’s eyes to pull off Neelambari. We wanted an arrogance in the character – and it was Ravikumar who suggested Ramya Krishnan’s name.”
For the unversed, Rajinikanth wrote the story of Padayappa and also bankrolled the project. He took inspiration for the Neelambari character from the character of Nandini from Kalki’s popular Tamil literary novel, Ponniyin Selvan. “It is close to my heart. I love Kalki’s Ponniyin Selvan and wanted to do a subject revolving around the Nandini character…and the result was Padayappa. I suggested the title, but its director, KS Ravikumar, was not convinced… but I urged him to go ahead,” he explained.
Interestingly, Aishwarya Rai played the role of Nandini in the two-part film Ponniyin Selvan (2022), directed by Mani Ratnam, which was inspired from the epic. Rajinikanth and Aishwarya have starred in films like Enthiran and 2.0.
Rajinikanth’s film Padayappa starred Sivaji Ganesan, Soundarya, and Abbas in pivotal roles, and the film’s music by AR Rahman became one of its highlights. It was directed by KS Ravikumar. The film’s shooting was completed in 70 days. Rajinikanth said, “For the climax, we shot extensively in Mysore with thousands of people,” underscoring the film’s scale.
After its release, it was rumoured that Rajinikanth’s film was inspired by former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa. Jayalalithaa had also expressed interest in seeing the film, and a special screening was arranged for her. “In 1996, I campaigned against her, and we were working on this film in 1998. She heard rumours that the Neelambari character was inspired by her and wanted to watch the film. After the screening, I heard that she liked the film. The then Chief Minister Kalaignar Karunanidhi watched the film too,” Rajinikanth shared.
Story continues below this ad
Padayappa will re-release in theatres on December 12, on Rajinikanth’s 75th birthday.
Leave a Reply