Kamal Haasan and S Shankar’s Indian 2 marks a significant return after 28 years since their collaboration on the original Indian. The film, featuring Siddharth alongside Haasan, revolves around a vigilante fighting corruption in the country.
At the trailer launch of its Hindi version, Hindustani 2 Haasan surprised many by confessing his initial reluctance to join the 1996 film, Indian. He even increased his fee, hoping Shankar might reconsider casting him. However, fate intervened, and Kamal Haasan ended up leading the blockbuster, which became a massive success.
Despite his initial reservations, Haasan was so impressed with Indian that he jokingly suggested to Shankar during the dubbing phase to start planning for a sequel, Hindustani 2 even before the first part's release. Reflecting on this, Haasan shared, “It felt like a joke but I had really meant it.”
Indian marked the beginning of a fruitful collaboration between Kamal Haasan and Shankar. Recalling his first impression of Shankar, Kamal Haasan remarked, “I thought, he was a guy who either doesn’t know what he’s talking about or he does. He was so calm. His demeanor was very unexpected considering he just had one hit behind him.”
During the making of Indian 2, Kamal Haasan observed that Shankar maintained the same calmness. Despite facing numerous challenges, both then and now, Shankar’s composure left a lasting impression on Haasan. He acknowledged the support of producer AM Rathnam, who stood by them through the complexities of making such an ambitious film as Indian.
Kamal Haasan praised Mani Rathnam’s unwavering positivity and professionalism, describing him as a technician-turned-producer who played a crucial role in the success of Indian. He emphasized, “He was our first audience. He was a technician – a make-up artist – who became a producer. Indian was the costliest film we were making in our careers.”
Indian 2 adds to the list of patriotic films being made in abundance. Haasan reprises his role as Senapathy, an aging freedom fighter turned vigilante. Asked about his definition of patriotism, Haasan expressed a global perspective, saying, “I’m a citizen of the world and I’m concerned when things go wrong. I want to be a world citizen and I want to live to see the day when passports are abolished. That’s my kind of thinking and people don’t need to agree with me.”
Indian 2 is jointly produced by Lyca Productions and Red Giant Movies. Alongside Haasan and Siddharth, the film stars SJ Suryah, Kajal Aggarwal Kitchlu, and Rakul Preet Singh. It is set for a global theatrical release on July 12 in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu languages.
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