During an old interview, late Malayalam actor and producer, Sreenivasan, recalled how his friend, Rajinikanth, cried and hugged him for a long time after watching his film.
If you have been keeping up with the news lately, you might already be aware that veteran Malayalam actor and director, Sreenivasan, passed away today, on December 20, 2025. He was 69 years old when he breathed his last. His untimely passing has left a hole in the Malayalam film industry as it has lost one of its most honest and fearless voices. Now, all that's left behind is his legacy of cinematic classics filled with numerous memorable characters. Some of his most well-known films include Manimuzhakkam, Varavelpu, Gandhinagar 2nd Street, and Nadodikkattu, among others.
Before his five-decade-long film career began, Sreenivasan received training at the prestigious MGR Government Film and Television Training Institute. Many might not know, but here, he studied with Tamil cinema icon, Rajinikanth. While studying together, the duo developed such a strong bond that, years later, after Sreenivasan formally became an actor, one of his films left Rajinikanth in tears.
Before his passing, during an interview with Rediff, Sreenivasan shared an incident that made his friend and Tamil superstar, Rajinikanth, cry. This incident later led Rajinikanth to star in the remake of a popular Malayalam film that he had written. If you are wondering which Sreenivasan film we are talking about, it's none other than the 2000s blockbuster, Kadha Parayumbol, which he wrote at the peak of his career. While the film found massive success in Malayalam, renowned Tamil director, P Vasu, who came across it, urged Rajinikanth to watch it. Distinctly recalling the incident, Sreenivasan said:
“I was in Mumbai at that time and could arrive at the preview theatre only when the movie was about to end. The producer had told Rajinikanth that I would be there. When the film ended, I saw him step out of the theatre, his eyes filled with tears. He was looking for me. He was so emotional that he hugged me for a very long time. After a while, he said, ‘You made me cry. He (Rajinikanth) then took me to the conference room and started asking me questions. We knew each other when we were students at the film institute, but we were not very close friends. I didn’t know then that Shivaji Rao Gaekwad would one day become Rajinikanth! That day, he was more curious to know more about me than about the film itself.”
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Although Rajinikanth was immensely impressed by Sreenivasan's film, instead of wanting to play the lead role in the film's Tamil remake himself, he suggested that actor, Kamal Haasan should be the one to take on the film. Sreenivasan recounted that on the second day that they met, Rajinikanth spoke to him about the ‘subtle scenes in the film.’ When they met up for a third time the following day, the late actor recalled Rajinikanth telling him that all his friends were urging him to act in the Tamil remake. However, he was reluctant to take on the project because he had only signed up for the film, Robot, three days earlier. Sreenivasan said:
“The first thing he told me was, ‘All my friends tell me that I should do the film. But I signed up for Robot (Enthiran) three days ago. What do you say if Kamal Haasan did this film?’ I told him, ‘Why should we discuss another actor?’ And then I said, ‘Come to think of it, is this not the story of a Shivaji Rao?’ But when I wrote the story, I didn’t think of Shivaji Rao.”
Sreenivasan concluded by saying how Rajinikanth came to his senses and told him that while he couldn't do the film, he couldn't bear to let go of the opportunity either. While his conversation with Rajinikanth came to a close in this way, director, P Vasu later told Sreenivasan how Rajinikanth mimicked him and reproduced what he said verbatim. He said:
“All of them had a hearty laugh watching him mimic me.”
Despite their worries, Rajinikanth went on to star in not only the Tamil remake of the film called Kuselan, but he also acted in its Telugu version titled Kathanayakudu, playing the role originally portrayed by Mammootty. Coming to Sreenivasan's roles, actor, Pasupathy took on his role in the Tamil remake while Jagapati Babu took on the role in Telugu. Though the remakes were great in their own right, none of them could match the original Malayalam film's success.
What are your thoughts on the late Sreenivasan encouraging Rajinikanth to star in the remake of his film? Let us know.
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