Rajini, Kamal, Sundar C. The Fall Of The Three Way Alliance.

Damn, that's a dramatic headline.

Anyway, it has been a roller coaster of a week for fans of Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, or admirers of both like me. Those who follow the Tamil film industry know that the two are going to or planning to....or whatever to....collaborate twice:

1. Kamal is to produce the film, which will star Rajini, and the film is to be directed by Sundar C. This is intentional as a gesture by Rajini to help his pal, Kamal, who has lost lots of money, especially burning his fingers as a producer in that borefest, Thug Life. In a way, it’s good, because otherwise the self-replicating industry players would next choose other popular memes for movie titles, like, I  can Has Cheezburger or Lolcatz. The film is so bad that I didn’t even badmouth the director of the film, Manirathnam out of symphathy. This time at least.
2. Rajini and Kamal will appear on screen together, but in another film way later. No further details have been divulged except I know it most probably won’t happen looking at what is going on now.

Let’s see, for several days, the Tamil language Youtubers were euphoric speculating this and that, driving views up like missiles,with comments splattering like machine gun bullets by the beach, and then….and then…the bomb screamed down. Like pigeon droppings on the head. Sunder C has opted out of the project. No clear reasons were given except that he mentioned in his statement that appreciated Kamal and Rajini for giving the opportunity, blah, blah, blah. The statement appeared in his wife Kushboo's instagram though, giving rise to further speculatiuons (including one where Rajini wanted an item song with the has-been actress).

Coming back to the YouTubers, one good thing that came out of this is that from the time Vijay indirectly caused the death of 41 at a political rally, that was all those so-called pundits and analysts were talking about. Again, the self-replication thing goes on, and I have to look at the time of the release of the clip to determine who copied whom.

So, it must have been a relief for Vijay since a new wave came and they stopped speculating, pontificating, and saturating what was a tragedy into a finger-pointing fest. Now, they are analysing why Sunder C opted out of the prestigious project. Many stories have emerged, again, speculation in nature, or that they got it from the industry insider (as a former practitioner of media, I think most of it is b.s.).

Again, so many theories, suppositions, and presumptions. When it was first announced that Sundar C was letting himself out, I had only one name in my mind: Kamal.  Why?

First, check out the list of dropped Kamal projects, which ChatGPT distilled from a Wikipedia entry, which I copy and paste here:

🎞️ 1980s

Chamayam (1981) – Malayalam film with Ambika, shelved after the producer’s death.

Raja Ennai Mannithuvidu (1982)—shelved after 15 days of shooting.

Top Tucker (1982)—abandoned after 5,000 feet of film was shot.

Do Deewane Pyar Ke—a Hindi film with Dev Anand, dropped due to creative differences.

Jigar (1983)—Hindi film stalled, later reworked as Mera Khoon with Govinda.

Khabardar (1984)—a social drama with Amitabh Bachchan, shelved mid-shoot.

Untitled Godfather adaptation – planned with Sivaji Ganesan, dropped.

Ponniyin Selvan (late 1980s)—Kamal & Mani Ratnam’s attempt to adapt Kalki’s novel, shelved due to finances.

🎬 1990s

Athi Veerapandiyan—a rural drama based on jallikattu, dropped; Kamal did Thevar Magan instead.

Kanden Seethaiyai—a remake of Ammayane Sathyam, abandoned due to creative differences.

Ladies Only—a Hindi remake of Magalir Mattum, never released.

Amaara Kaaviyam—script by Kamal, meant to be directed by Sarika, never made.

Marudhanayagam (1997) – historical epic launched with Queen Elizabeth II present, stalled due to funding.

Markandeyan—a pan-Indian film idea, dropped after the producer’s financial troubles.

Londonil Kameshwaran—a comedy script, later reworked as Nala Damayanthi (2003) with Madhavan.

🎥 2000s

Robot (2001)—Kamal was the first choice for Shankar’s sci-fi epic, later revived as Enthiran with Rajinikanth.

Naran (2001)—planned with K.S. Ravikumar, dropped due to budget issues.

Panchatanthiram 2 – sequel idea that never materialized.

Moo (2002) – Rashomon-style film that later evolved into Virumaandi.

Krishna Leela (2004)—comedy entertainer, dropped.

KG (2004) – cop thriller, postponed indefinitely.

Vasool Raja MBBS 2 (2006) – remake of Lage Raho Munna Bhai, dropped.

Marmayogi (2008) – 7th-century period film, shelved after Pyramid Saimira backed out.

Thalaivan Irukkiraan (2008) – political action film, stalled multiple times.

19 Steps (2008) – Indo-Japanese martial arts film with Walt Disney, dropped.

Buddham Sharanam (2009) – historical Buddha film with Mysskin, cancelled.

Yavarum Kelir (2010) – comedy drama, dropped; team moved to Manmadan Ambu.

🎞️ 2010s

Tippuvum Unniaarchayum (2011) – biopic of Tipu Sultan, shelved.

Vaamamaargam (2014) – project on “business ethics,” never developed.

Paramapadham (2015) – comedy heist film with Moulee, stalled.

Amma Appa Vilayattu (2015) – family drama, postponed.

Sabaash Naidu (2016) – spin-off of Balram Naidu character, delayed indefinitely after multiple setbacks.

Thevar Magan 2 (2018) – sequel planned, later shelved due to creative differences.

🎬 2020s

Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu 2 (2020) – sequel discussed with Gautham Menon, stalled.

Papanasam 2 (2021) – remake of Drishyam 2, dropped due to Kamal’s busy schedule.

KH 233 (2023) – political thriller with H. Vinoth, officially dropped in 2024.

As one can surmise, Kamal’s list of dropped film projects looks abandoned vehicles in a post-apocalyptic world. That is one argument: either he drops out or the directors pull out. Premature. Or some other reasons.

As the YouTubers mentioned and any Tamil film fan knows, Sunder C is one of the least problematic directors working in the industry. He has entered his third decade, still steady, prolific, and delivering – albeit few flops—one hit after another crowd favorite.

He has a few more projects lined up. He has enough on his plate. He felt it was kind of Kamal and Rajini and, indeed, as he mentioned in his withdrawal note, was honoured to have worked with both. Throughout the discussion sessions he may have sensed that there will be issues with creative power, and Sunder C is known for always having free rein on set and with script once the projects are greenlit.

He is not going to take it if Kamal comes like one of those meddling kids in the Scooby Doo show and starts pushing the making of the film from one direction to another, being the producer. As revealed recently, Anbe Sivam was supposed to have a happier ending, but Kamal decided to make it a bit more tragic. It’s a cult classic now, but it was not a hit, and Sunder C never went that direction again.

And Sunder C did just that this time.