Lingusamy: Vijay was the first choice for Sandakozhi but he said no because of Rajkiran's character arc
The 2005 film that was meant to star Thalapathy Vijay later went to Vishal and was a massive hit in both Tamil and Telugu.
Sandakozhi, directed by Lingusamy and starring Vishal and Meera Jasmine, was a massive hit when it was released in 2005 in Tamil. The film was also a success in Telugu when it was released in the language as Pandem Kodi. Lingusamy revealed in an interview with Behind Woods that he first narrated the script to Thalapathy Vijay. (Also Read: Vishal pens heartfelt note as Sandakozhi completes 18 years)
‘Vijay didn’t hear the full story’
Talking about how he approached Vijay first, Lingusamy said, “When I first penned the script, I went to Vijay sir. I was narrating but as soon as he heard Rajkiran’s character arc, he asked me to stop. I was confused. I tried to ask him to listen to the second half of the film and give me ten minutes. But he said no, he turned down the film.”
‘Vishal was the perfect fit’
It was only later that Lingusamy would narrate the film to a debutant called Vishal and the rest is history. “I narrated the film to Vishal and he agreed to act in it. The film was released and it became such a massive success that I realised Vishal was the perfect fit. The story needed an up and coming actor like him to work the way it did,” he said.
‘Vijay appreciated me later on’
But that’s not all because Vijay and Lingusamy bumped into each other at a party later on. “Vijay sir saw me at an event. He approached me and told me my film was great. But I was mad at him for turning it down. I told him he should’ve heard the second half of the film. He said, the film industry needed someone like Vishal at that point of time,” he added.
About Sandakozhi
The film’s success didn’t just set up Vishal’s career, it also resulted in a sequel in 2018. However, the sequel received mixed reviews for not being as fun as the first part. Vishal reprised his role while Keerthy Suresh was his co-star.
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