'Kalki 2898 AD' star Kamal Haasan on not working with Rajinikanth in 40 years: 'The competition is there'

Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth Pic/AFP

Tamil superstar Kamal Haasan, who is currently basking in the success of the sci-fi epic ‘Kalki 2898 AD' opened up about not sharing screen space with Rajinikanth in the last 40 years. The dynamic duo has been a part of films like ‘Ninaithale Inikkum', ‘Aval Appadithan', and ‘Ilamai Oonjal Aadukirathu' to name a few were last seen together in the Hindi film ‘Geraftaar' which was released in 1985.

Kamal was quoted by the Indian Express on his rapport with Thalaiva and if they would work together again or have crossovers in each other's films. He said, "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 Haasan plays the role of Yaskin in 'Kalki 2898 AD'. Earlier, speaking about his character, Kamal Hasaan said, " I always wanted to play a bad man because the bad man gets to do all the good things and have fun. Where the heroes are singing romantic songs and waiting for the heroine, he (the bad guy) can just go ahead and do what he wants. I thought I was going to play the bad man so it's going to be fun. But then, he (Ashwin) wanted it to be different. I'm almost like a sage in the film with a bad idea.

Directed by Nag Ashwin, this post-apocalyptic film is inspired by Hindu scriptures and set in the year 2898 AD. It also stars Amitabh Bachchan as Ashwathama, Deepika Padukone as Sumathi, Prabhas as Bhairava, and Disha Patani as Roxie. The film also features cameos by Vijay Deverakonda, Dulquer Salmaan, and Mrunal Thakur. The film hit the big screens on June 27 and has already raked in Rs 500 crore worldwide.

(With inputs from ANI)