Kamal Haasan BREAKS Silence on Why He Never Worked With Rajinikanth in 40 Years: 'We Decided Not to...'

Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan acted together in nearly 16 films.

Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth are the two biggest superstars in Tamil film industry. They acted together in nearly 16 films including Apoorva Raagangal, Aval Appadithan, 16 Vayathinile, Ilamai Oonjal Aadukirathu, Thillu Mullu and Ninaithale Inikkum. The duo was last seen in the Hindi film Geraftaar (1985), in which they featured alongside Amitabh Bachchan.

However, after achieving superstardom in the industry, they have not appeared in a film together. Although the two maintain a close bond and often attend events to support each other’s work.

Recently, Kamal opened up about his equation with Rajinikanth and addressed whether they might work together again or make a special appearance in each other’s films in the future. “It’s not a new combination. We have done many films together. Then we decided not to work together. We are not like two competitors. We had the same mentor (Tamil filmmaker K Balachander). Unlike any other place, the competition is there, openly. But there’s no envy and it’s two different paths,” he said. “We also never make snide remarks about each other. We made this call when we were in our 20s; it’s not that we became older and wiser now,” Kamal was quoted as saying by Indian Express.com.

Meanwhile, Kamal Haasan recently said that he was “grateful” to his Hindi audience for accepting him as their own. Haasan made his Hindi film debut with Ek Duuje Ke Liye in 1981. The film was a remake of his own acted Telugu-language film Maro Charitra directed by K Balachander. At the trailer of launch of the Hindi version of Indian 2, the actor recalled how he couldn’t speak a single word of Hindi properly back then.

“Let me first thank you for teaching me a lesson,” Haasan began his speech as he addressed the media in Mumbai. “I used to think I’m from Tamil Nadu and that’s my place. You taught me 35 or more years ago that I’m an Indian. I was just a South Indian actor, you people made me into an Indian actor. I’m ever so grateful. I didn’t know a word of Hindi when I was doing my first film. I was exactly what the hero of Ek Duuje Ke Liye was and without your support and applause, I couldn’t have come back on to this stage.”