Actors passing on projects and their colleagues materialising them is something that happens in show business far too frequently. However, there are occasions where projects thus skipped end up becoming landmarks, even defining the careers of the actors who eventually picked them up, leaving the fans of the former, and even the stars themselves, disappointed over the lost opportunity. From Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan rejecting Lagaan to Aamir Khan turning down Darr, and Mammootty skipping Drishyam, there are many examples of this in Indian cinema.
Even the Tamil film industry is no stranger to this phenomenon, and there have been quite a few similar instances. Among them, the story of one project stands out as the most intriguing since it took the director over a decade to realise the movie after its initial male lead, Kamal Haasan, walked out. Interestingly, the film was also supposed to mark the Tamil debut of renowned Bollywood actor Preity Zinta.
However, another actor, “Superstar” Rajinikanth, later took on the project and turned it into a multi-billion franchise, bringing significant glory to the industry.
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When Shankar’s Robot starred Kamal Haasan and Preity Zinta
The movie we are referring to is Enthiran (2010), helmed by S Shankar. The director launched the science-fiction actioner as Robot in the late 1990s, starring Kamal Haasan and Preity Zinta in the lead roles. In fact, the two actors even joined forces back then for a photoshoot, and the images from it are available online. However, the movie, which was supposed to be jointly written by Shankar and Sujatha, was shelved due to scheduling conflicts.
“While Kamal was shooting (for other movies), I improved upon the story and changed it according to the taste of the audience. But our dates were clashing with each other’s schedule,” he told The Hindu in a 2010 interview. Shankar then moved on to do the coming-of-age musical film Boys (2003).
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How Rajinikanth revived the shelved sci-fi epic
However, he did not discard Robot’s script and kept it close to him. When he eventually got the chance to narrate it to Rajinikanth, Shankar swiftly seized the opportunity, and the superstar liked it greatly, paving the way for the revival of the project, which was eventually rechristened Enthiran.
Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai in Enthiran. (Express archive photo)
“Rajni sir readily gave his nod because he was familiar with the film’s story. During the shooting of our Sivaji: The Boss (2007), he was curious to know my next project. So I narrated the story of Enthiran. Though he had done over 150 films, he still seemed interested in it. He took the role as a challenge, as no other Indian actor had done this kind of film till then,” the director recalled.
Kamal Haasan, too, had once spoken about turning down the movie. “So, ‘I, Robot’ was an English novel (penned by Isaac Asimov)… We (Kamal Haasan, Shankar, and writer Sujatha) used to talk about different ideas, and Sujatha thought I should do that (I, Robot), and we tried testing,” he recalled during a 2024 conversation with Pinkvilla.
The actor continued, “But the film industry is complicated, with so many complex business equations, including my remuneration, dates, time, and the market at that time. So I was not very keen to do it at that time. Hence, I dropped the project. But my friend Shankar picked it up at the right time and turned it into a great success. That’s how simple it is. An idea is an idea. Anybody could pick it in time and benefit from it.”
After Kamal opted out, there were reports that Shankar subsequently tried to revive the project with Vikram and even Shah Rukh Khan. However, it all fell through, and he eventually joined forces with Rajinikanth. Aishwarya Rai, meanwhile, replaced Preity Zinta as the female lead. After Robot was shelved, Preity has never done another Tamil movie to date.
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From Enthiran to 2.0: Shattering Tamil cinema box office records
Mounted on a massive budget of Rs 132 crore, Enthiran ended up grossing Rs 291 crore worldwide, according to industry tracker Sacnilk, becoming the highest-grossing Indian film of 2010. But the sci-fi actioner’s story didn’t end there; Shankar and Rajinikanth followed it up with a sequel, 2.0 (2018), made at an even heftier budget of Rs 543 crore.
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While the superstar reprised his dual role from Enthiran, Akshay Kumar played the main antagonist, Pakshi Rajan, marking his Tamil debut. Although 2.0’s reviews were fairly mixed, it minted a whopping Rs 691 crore and remains the highest-grossing Tamil film of all time, even after seven years.
The secret pact that kept Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan apart
Interestingly, there were reports back then that Shankar had approached Kamal Haasan during the development of 2.0, requesting him to play Pakshi Rajan. Kamal himself responded to these rumours later. “There was no question of taking up the part. I wouldn’t have been part of this film under any circumstances, and it’s got nothing to do with the role being a negative one. I have played negative roles many times before. Besides, a big star (Akshay Kumar) is playing the part now,” he told Rediff in a 2016 interview.
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Kamal added, “Rajni and I have a pact that, whenever we do another film together, it would have to be produced by either him or me. It’s the only way to ensure we do not displease our fans.”
Had the two joined forces then, we wouldn’t have had to wait until director Nelson Dilipkumar’s KH x RK Reunion to see the two legends together on screen yet again after decades.
Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai in Enthiran. (Express archive photo)
Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan in KH x RK Reunion. (Screenshot: YouTube/RedGiantMovies; enhanced using AI)