In the last decade, between 2009 and 2019, Tamil cinema’s most loved comedian Vadivelu appeared in about 21 films, the last one being Vijay’s Mersal in 2017. There was a time where he even did 24 films in one year!
The recent #PrayForNesamani viral trend was a reminder of just how magical and enjoyable it is to watch the star on screen. But things seem to be picking up with the actor who will soon be joining Kamal Haasan’s Thalaivan Irukkindraan. This news was confirmed during the ‘Ungal Naan’ event that was held in Chennai.
Thalaivan Irukkindraan is among Kamal’s long-delayed projects. It was first announced over a decade ago in 2008. Pre-production works continued throughout late 2008, with actors such as Rishi Kapoor, Mohanlal and Venkatesh approached for leading roles. But, the project was put on hold citing financial issues.
It was later revived in 2015, and the makers announced that the film will be made in Hindi as well and will be titled Amar Hain. While Kamal will play the antagonist, Saif Ali Khan was supposed to play the main lead in the Hindi version. Kamal was supposed to return to Bollywood with this project after 18 years, and he had planned to write and direct the film himself.
In July this year, Kamal revived this project for the second time, tweeting that AR Rahman was now on board the film.
On Sunday, during Kamal Haasan’s ‘Ungal Naan’, a grand event organised to celebrate his 60 years in cinema, Vadivelu’s entry was one among the best surprises of the evening. The 10 minutes that he was onstage was a laugh riot for the audience.
Vadivelu shared his earliest memories of working with Kamal, having made his first appearance alongside the actor in Singaravelan in the year 1992. Vadivelu was just five films old at that time.
Vadivelu, who was already starstruck with Kamal while working on this film, was overjoyed to be offered a chance to work in his next – Thevar Magan.
“He had asked me to go to his Raaj Kamal office in the morning and collect an advance cheque for working in his next. How can I wait until then? I went there that evening. I told them that the day had already dawned for me,”
He said, adding, “I think the day has dawned once again. There’s no looking back.”
Vadivelu, who briefly addressed his absence from cinema, said, “Even for someone like me, they had landmines, Kamal may have had missiles aimed at him.” This was a clear reference to his brief but unpleasant political stint in 2011. He also said Kamal’s entry into politics was a “compulsion of time” and stayed away from commenting further on it.
Well, we cannot wait to see these two together on screen! It is definitely going to look super awesome!
