Amitabh Bachchan, one of Indian's cinema's most iconic actors, has made cameo appearances in a few south films but has never been seen in a pivotal role in a Tamil flick.
The Bollywood star has now revealed that he was offered the villain role in Rajinkanth's "Endhiran" ("Robot"). In an interview to The Times of India, Bachchan said he discussed with Rajinikanth about taking up the role, but the Tamil superstar advised him against it.
"Yes, I was offered a role in a Rajini film, Robot (Endhiran). It was for the role of the villain. I checked with Rajini, but he said, 'haan, no sir. I don't think you should do it'," Amitabh was quoted as saying by the news daily. He also added that he is open to taking up good offers from the Tamil industry.
If Amitabh had taken up the role, fans would have witnessed two of Indian cinema's legendary actors on the silver screen after a long time.
Rajini and Amitabh have featured together in quite a few Hindi films in the 80s and 90s. Rajini's first Hindi debut "Andha Kanoon", had Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini as co-stars. The actors had starred in another hit film "Hum", released in 1991. Apart from these two projects, Rajini has done an extended cameo in 1985 release "Geraftaar", which has Amitabh and Kamal Haasan in the lead.
"Endhiran" might have given an opportunity for fans to see their screen idols together in a film, but unfortunately it didn't happen.
"Endhiran", a superhero flick directed by Shankar, had Rajini playing dual roles - as a scientist and a robot. Interestingly, Amitabh's daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai played the female lead in the film. Released in 2010, "Endhiran" became one of the highest grossing films of the year.
The success of "Endhiran" has catapulted Rajinikanth to the international league. The superstar is gearing up for his next release, "Kochadaiiyaan", which is expected to hit screens in December. The film will be released in nine different languages including Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, English and Japanese.