Kushboo slams trolls targeting her, husband Sundar C after his exit from Rajinikanth–Kamal Haasan film Thalaivar 173: ‘My slipper size is 41…’

Ever since he opted out of #Thalaivar173, director Sundar C has been facing immense trolling online, with some even taking cheap shots at his wife, actor Kushboo Sundar.

By: Entertainment Desk

Kochi | Updated: November 17, 2025 06:49 PM IST

4 min read

Ever since he opted out of #Thalaivar173, director Sundar C has been facing immense trolling online, with some even taking cheap shots at his wife, actor Kushboo Sundar.

'Superstar' Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan with actor-director Sundar C. (Credit: X/@RKFIOffl, Instagram/@khushsundar)

When Kamal Haasan’s Raaj Kamal Films International announced recently that it was all set to produce ‘Superstar’ Rajinikanth’s next movie, tentatively titled #Thalaivar173, the Tamil cinema fandom went into a frenzy. Although fans had long been awaiting a collaboration between the acting legends, who last joined forces decades ago, it remained a distant dream until recently. Even though director Lokesh Kanagaraj had tried to float a gangster drama featuring the two stars, it was put on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic and eventually shelved. Thus, the news that Kamal is set to produce a film starring Rajinikanth was incredibly exciting for their admirers.

However, almost as if proving it was a dream too good to be true, director Sundar C — who had been announced to helm #Thalaivar173 — opted out of the project just a few days later, citing “unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances.” Since then, social media has been abuzz with theories speculating what may have prompted him to walk out of the project. Among the many comments on the matter, some were disrespectful and even misogynistic, with a few taking cheap shots at Sundar’s wife, actor Kushboo Sundar. Now, she herself has stepped forward to hit back at the trolls for making insensitive remarks against them.

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When one netizen wondered if Sundar C backed out of the project because Rajinikanth asked Kushboo to do an item song in it, she replied, “Ile, unga veetule irundhu yaaravadhu aaduvaikkalamnu nenacho (No, we were thinking of roping in someone from your family for that).” Another troll went one step further and reportedly wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “Kusu, heard that Rajini and Kamal threw your husband out of their production movie due to Sundar C’s pathetic story narration. So is it time for the Indian film industry to throw your husband, Sundar C, into the dustbin?” Kushboo replied, “Yen seruppu size 41, adi vaanga thayaara? (My slipper size is 41. Are you ready to get beaten with it?)”

Reacting to a meme shared by a Twitter user featuring Rajinikanth running away from Kushboo, which the former dubbed as the reason for #Thalaivar173 being dropped, she wrote, “Appadidhaan un amma unnai peththaangala? (Is that how your mother raised you?) Thanks for the info.” When an X user alleged that Sundar C was dropped from the project after he narrated a “subpar story” to Rajinikanth, Kushboo retorted sharply, noting, “And you tweet and raise questions on hearsay?? What a disaster you are.”

Watch #Thalaivar173 announcement video here:

Following Sundar C’s exit from the project, Kamal Haasan shared that he was on the hunt for a new story that would satisfy his star (Rajinikanth), implying that the project would anyway be bankrolled by Raaj Kamal Films International. “Sundar C has explained the reason for his withdrawal from the project through a press release. I don’t have anything to add to it. Until my star is satisfied with the script, we will keep scouting for it. We are currently in the process of finalising a quality script.”

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