Birthing Madhavan as an action hero gave Lingusamy the biggest hit of his career. Even 24 years later, Run (2002) remains quintessential in both men’s legacy. It was also never supposed to be their film. In a recent conversation about the film, the director revealed that the 2002 box-office smash was initially written for Vijay. Sent to AVM through his father S A Chandrasekhar, the script was rejected in a meeting the actor was never told about.
Lingusamy recalled in a recent interview that after the success of his debut Aanandham, the story of Run reached AVM through Chandrasekhar. “At that time, producers would only go to AVM. S A Chandrasekhar sent the story there, and a meeting was called,” he said in an interview with Galatta Plus.
“Saravanan sir heard the story and liked it very much. He said this is love with action. But they were making Thamizhan then, and he felt that after a film like Thamizhan, this one would look small. So they decided not to do it. And Vijay sir was never told about it.”
The director did not attempt to hide what the film meant to him. “Of all the films I was supposed to do with Vijay sir, this was the most important one. I missed it. And after that, he went on to do the remake of Okkadu, which became Ghilli,” he noted.
Turning out to be Tamil cinema’s gain twice over, Run went to Madhavan, then known almost entirely for romantic roles, and became his first action film and one of the biggest hits of 2002, running past 175 days. Vijay’s Ghilli, released in 2004, became the film that turned him into a mass hero.
Vijay, it turns out, eventually noticed what he had missed. Lingusamy recounted a party hosted for a Rajinikanth film around the time Run’s hit talk was spreading. “Vijay sir walked in, and everyone’s attention was on him. He saw me standing at a distance and came straight to me, shook my hand and said, ‘You have done a fantastic job.’ I will never forget that,” he said.
More than two decades on, the film still follows him around. “Wherever I go, a mall, a theatre, the airport, strangers walk up to me and say, ‘Sir, please make another film like Run.’ I have been hearing this for fifteen years. I believe Run has its own audience even today,” he said, concluding the interview.
Source: The Indian Express
