Rajinikanth has now revealed that he had initially wanted actress Aishwarya Rai to play the powerful role of Neelambari in his superhit film Padayappa, which is set to re-release on December 12.
Rajinikanth made this disclosure in a video clip titled The Return of Padayappa, released ahead of the film's re-release. For the unaware, the blockbuster film is being re-released on 12 December to mark the Superstar's 75th birthday.
In the video clip, Rajinikanth shared several interesting details about the film that were not known until now.
The Superstar said, "Whenever I thought of the Neelambari character, I would remember Aishwarya Rai. I thought Aishwarya Rai was perfect for this role and that she should play it. We tried for almost three months to get her dates. We even tried contacting her through her relatives. If she had said the role was good and that we needed to wait, we would have waited even for a year. That was because that character needed to click; otherwise, the film would not work. It was only later that we realised she was not interested in the role."
He also revealed that when they had to look for someone else, he told director KS Ravikumar that the Neelambari role had to be extremely powerful for the film to succeed. Rajinikanth said several suggestions were made, but he could not find anyone with the commanding eyes the character demanded.
"I told Ravikumar that if we couldn't find the right person with powerful eyes for this role, we would put the project on hold," Rajinikanth recalled. He then said it was Ravikumar who suggested Ramya Krishnan's name, after which she came on board.
Ramya Krishnan's performance as Neelambari earned widespread critical acclaim, and her popularity soared following the film's release.
Rajinikanth also said in the video clip that he is now discussing a story for a sequel to Padayappa.
"We are planning for #Padayappa2, titled as #Neelambari, story discussion is going on😲. As far as I know Padayappa was the film where Ladies has broken the theatres gate and watched the film❤️🔥. I didn't give the film for any OTT"
— AmuthaBharathi (@CinemaWithAB) December 8, 2025
- Superstar #Rajinikanth pic.twitter.com/yWMoBYakGp
"As far as I know, in my 50 years in the film industry, the first time women broke open the gates of a theatre to watch a film was for Padayappa. Now, in recent times, we have 2.0 and Jailer 2. It suddenly occurred to me-why not make a second part to Padayappa? Anyway, Neelambari (played by Ramya Krishnan) says in the first film, 'I will at least take revenge in my next birth.' So, the title will be Neelambari - Padayappa 2. If the film turns out well, it will be another celebration for fans, like a festival."
In the video, Rajinikanth further disclosed that he was the actual producer of Padayappa and that he had also developed the story.
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(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
