Not Arjun Sarja But This Actor Was S Shankar's First Choice For 1999 Film Mudhalvan

S Shankar’s directorial Mudhalvan was one of the biggest blockbusters of the Tamil cinema industry in the 1990s. Arjun Sarja, Manisha Koirala and Raghuvaran played the lead roles in the movie. The music of the movie was composed by the Oscar-winning musician AR Rahman. The movie became a trendsetter in the entertainment industry which was followed by Bollywood with the release of Nayak in 2001.

The performance of Arjun Sarja was loved by the audience and critics. But do you know that Arjun Sarja was not the first choice of S Shankar for the movie? The filmmaker initially approached Thalapathy Vijay for the role of Pugazh in the movie.

Director S Shankar revealed in an interview that he approached Thalapathy Vijay for the lead role in Mudhalvan. He approached the actor’s father SA Chandrasekar through his associate. However, the negotiations between Shankar and SA Chandrasekhar’s associate fell through due to date issues. There were remuneration issues with Thalapathy Vijay too at that time, as per reports.

Disappointed with the failed negotiation, Shankar moved to his next choice, Arjun Sarja. Later, when SA Chandrasekhar came to know about Vijay missing a prestigious project like Mudhalvan, he told Shankar that he should have discussed it with him directly instead of approaching him through his associate.

Mudhalvan director S Shankar also approached superstar Rajinikanth for the role of Arjun Sarja in the movie. As per reports, Rajinikanth read the Mudhalvan script and was impressed by the story. However, he asked Shankar to wait for a few years to shoot the film. However, the filmmaker was reluctant to release the film in 1999.

In an interview with a YouTube channel, director Shankar’s assistant Muthu Vadugu revealed the actual reason for rejecting the movie. He said that in 1999, Rajinikanth supported DMK leader Kalaignar Karunanidhi in the elections which resulted in victory. The actor felt that if he did Mudhalvan just six months after supporting Kalaignar, then it would not be good for his image. The film’s premise was challenging a chief minister, so he asked S Shankar to wait for a few years. The director refused to wait that long for the release of Mudhalvan and hence, he decided to move on to his other choices.