Reports say actor Vijay may play the lead in the sequel of director Shankar’s political-thriller Mudhalvan (1999), and Arjun Sarja, who starred as the CM in the original, may be seen as the antagonist. However, sources close to the film say that nothing can be confirmed yet.
As reported recently, Vijay’s next is likely to be with director Shankar. They reportedly met recently for discussions about the film and the actor is likely to give his nod. If the film goes ahead, Vijay may play the Chief Minister in the film.
However, sources said he will begin focusing on this project only after he completes Thalapathy 64 by Lokesh Kanagaraj. The spokesperson for the film said, “Director Shankar is busy with pre-production work for Indian 2 starring Kamal Haasan. Reports about Mudhalvan 2 are all speculations as of now.”
It is said that director Shankar initially had Rajinikanth in mind to play the lead but because of Rajini’s plans to enter full-time politics by 2021, he might not sign up for the film. Shankar had indicated during a promotional event for 2.0 last year that if he makes a sequel to Mudhalvan it would star Rajinikanth or Kamal Haasan, but if the script demanded someone younger, his first choice would be Vijay.
Interestingly, both Rajinikanth and Vijay were initially approached for Mudhalvan in 1999 but they both opted out as they felt the film was heavy on political content. The story of the film was about a journalist (played by Arjun Sarja) who accepts the chief minister’s challenge to take up his post for a day, and ends up being elected as the CM after he does a good job.
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It was believed that Raghuvaran’s character as the antagonist CM Aranganathar was influenced by late DMK chief M Karunanidhi, and DMK members opposed the film after release. It also starred Manisha Koirala in the lead, and had music by AR Rahman and cinematography by KV Anand. The film was a hit and was later remade in Hindi as Nayak.
Shankar and Vijay have worked together on Nanban, the Tamil remake of the Hindi film 3 Idiots. The director is currently busy with Indian 2, which is facing delays because of Kamal Haasan’s other projects. Actor Vijay is shooting for Atlee directorial Bigil, scheduled for release this Diwali.