When Sreenivasan made Rajinikanth cry: ‘He was so emotional that he hugged me for a very long period’

One of the most successful actor-screenwriters in Malayalam cinema history, Sreenivasan has gifted the industry with several blockbusters while also playing a key role in catapulting many, including Mohanlal and Priyadarshan, to extraordinary heights. An alumnus of the esteemed MGR Government Film and Television Training Institute (formerly known as the Adyar Film Institute), he also shares an adorable bond with Tamil cinema icon Rajinikanth, who was his super senior at the institute. Interestingly, their connection dates back to their early struggle days, long before Rajinikanth became the “Superstar” he is today.

In fact, Sreenivasan himself once shared an incident where he “made Rajinikanth cry”, which ultimately led the Tamil superstar to take on the remake of a Malayalam blockbuster written by him. In the 2000s, at the peak of his career, Sreenivasan penned a movie titled Kadha Parayumbol. Amid its massive success in Malayalam, renowned Tamil director P Vasu came across the film and suggested that Rajinikanth watch it.

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Recalling the experience, Sreenivasan shared during a 2008 chat with Rediff, “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 Rajnikanth 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 period. After a while, he said, ‘You made me cry.'”

Helmed by M Mohanan, Kadha Parayumbol tells the story of Balan (Sreenivasan), a barber who once shared a deep friendship with Ashok Raj (Mammootty), a now-famous movie star. Following the two childhood friends’ eventual separation caused by their busy lives and differing career paths, Ashok returns to Balan’s village for a film shoot, unaware that his old friend lives there. While the villagers are eager to meet the superstar, Balan keeps his distance, fearing that Ashok may not remember him. When the villagers, including his family, discover their past friendship, they pressure Balan to reconnect with Ashok, leaving him in a challenging situation.

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He continued, “He (Thalaivar) 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 Rajnikanth! That day, he was more curious to know more about me than about the film itself.”

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“On the second day, he spoke to me about the subtle scenes in the film. It appeared now that he just wanted to talk about the film alone. We then met a third time the following day. 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.”

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“He said, ‘theriyum, theriyum…‘ (I know, I know…) He thought for a while and said in a low voice, ‘pannarathukum mudiyala… vidarthakum mudiyala… (I can’t do it… but I can’t bring myself to let it go either…)’ Later P Vasu told me how Rajnikanth mimicked me and reproduced all that I said verbatim (laughs). All of them had a hearty laugh watching him mimic me,” he added.

Ultimately, Rajinikanth starred in the Tamil and Telugu remakes of Kadha Parayumbol, titled Kuselan and Kathanayakudu, respectively, reprising the superstar role originally played by Mammootty. While Pasupathy portrayed Sreenivasan’s role in Tamil, Jagapati Babu took on the part in Telugu. However, both movies failed to match the success of the Malayalam film.

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When asked whether Rajinikanth took on the film because he saw his own life reflected in it, Sreenivasan responded, “That’s possible. But he didn’t tell me that. He is a man with a big heart. He has helped everybody who was with him at the Institute; not monetarily but by giving jobs in films. He values friendship a lot, and it is not for publicity’s sake that he helps them.”

Kadha Parayumbol was later remade in Hindi as Billu, directed by Priyadarshan, with Shah Rukh Khan and Irrfan Khan in the lead roles. Unfortunately, like its Tamil and Telugu counterparts, the Hindi version also failed to make an impact at the box office.

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