Director Pa Ranjith auditioned as many as 30 dogs before zeroing in on Mani, an Indian pariah dog, who has played the role of Superstar Rajinikanth's pet in the upcoming gangster flick Kaala. Mani's worth has shot through the roof after he worked with Thalaivar. To be exact, it is now at Rs 2 crore. Bidders for the dog are apparently ready to doll out as much as Rs 2 crore for the dog, which was found by animal trainer Simon on the streets of Chennai. "When people come asking for Mani, I tell them that he is like a family. Money is not important for me. When I wake up I look at his face first. How can I give him away?" Simon told a Tamil publication recently. Adopted from the streets, it was a challenging task for Simon to train Mani. "He tried to bite me when I first met him," recalled Simon. However, he is now a friendly pet. The rapport Mani had developed with Rajinikanth on sets, made Simon's job easy. "Mani has worked with Rajinikanth sir throughout the film. You see his work in the film. On Rajinikanth sir's command, he will jump into the jeep and sit." After Kaala, Mani has reportedly acted in three more films. Kaala is Ranjith's second consecutive outing with Rajinikanth after last year's Kabali. The gangster drama is set in the backdrop of Mumbai's Dharavi. The film has an ensemble cast, including, Nana Patekar, Samuthirakani, Huma Qureshi and Eashwari Rao. Kaala is bankrolled by Dhanush under his Wunderbar Films banner and it will hit the screens on June 7.
