Is Vijay's Thalapathy 69 a remake of Balakrishna's Bhagavanth Kesari? Anil Ravipudi, VTV Ganesh add to confusion

Actor VTV Ganesh and director Anil Ravipudi spoke about Vijay liking Bhagavanth Kesari at a promotional event for Sankranthiki Vasthunam.

For a while now there have been rumours that H Vinoth’s yet-to-be-titled Thalapathy 69 with Vijay, Pooja Hegde and Mamitha Baiju is a remake of the Balakrishna, Kajal Aggarwal and Sreeleela-starrer, the 2023 Telugu film Bhagavanth Kesari. Actor VTV Ganesh and director Anil Ravipudi just added to the confusion at a recently held event for Sankranthiki Vasthunam. (Also Read: Nassar says son called for Vijay instead of his parents after waking from a 14-day coma: ‘He did not say amma or appa’)

Pooja Hegde and Vijay at the launch of Thalapathy 69 in Chennai.

Thalapathy 69 a remake?

At the event, Ganesh said that he had something very important to tell before he got off the stage. He said, “Vijay told me he watched Bhagavanth Kesari five times, he liked the film and wants him (Anil) to direct it. When they called and asked him, he said he won’t do a remake. Vijay said he has four or five big directors waiting to make my last film and yet he said no.”

Anil interjected him and clarified, “I did not say I won’t make it. There was a whole another discussion.” When Ganesh said that he’s only revealing what was told to him, and said, “I’m saying I watched Bhagavanth Kesari then because I am also acting in this film (Sankranthiki Vasthunam). I thought he did a great job.”

Anil however thought Ganesh’s statement needed more clarification. He took to the stage and said, “What he meant to say is that, Vijay garu is doing a film now. They have not announced what film it is yet so it is not right to talk about it yet. He only meant to say that I had some discussions with Tamil superstar Vijay about his final film. There were some issues with time slots and processes. Vijay called me with a lot of respect…”

When Ganesh tried to interject again, Anil wrapped it up with, “Yes we talked but that discussion is different. I have worked with a lot of heroes but Vijay garu is the best I’ve ever met. Even when he was shooting for Varisu I worked with Vamsi (Paidipally) garu for a few scenes. So I know how much he respects directors. Once they announce what Thalapathy 69 is, we will talk more about it.”

Despite dropping hints that Thalapathy 69 might in fact be a remake of Bhagavanth Kesari, fans were confused about Anil skirting around what really happened and why he wasn’t directing it. Some fans even shared a hilarious scene between Vijay and Ganesh from Nelson Dilipkumar’s Beast in which Ganesh is chided for leaking information.

About Thalapathy 69

Thalapathy 69 is touted to be Vijay’s last film before he joins politics. Bobby Deol, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Prakash Raj, Narain, Priyamani, Monisha Blessy and Varalaxmi Sarathkumar also star in it. The film went on floors in 2024 and is expected to be released this year.