Not Kamal Haasan, But These Two Actors Were The First Choice For Indian Casting

In 1996, Shankar’s Tamil film Indian, also titled Bharateeyudu in Telugu, was released and became a massive hit. Universal hero Kamal Haasan starred in this cult classic, playing a dual role as both father Senapati and son Chandu. His performance in the film was outstanding; many cannot imagine anyone else in these roles. Kamal Haasan truly brought the characters to life.

However, the shocking truth is that Kamal Haasan was not the first choice for the film. Director Shankar initially wrote the story with either Rajinikanth or Telugu hero Rajasekhar in mind. Due to Rajinikanth’s unavailability, Shankar approached Kamal Haasan before considering Rajasekhar. If Kamal Haasan had declined the offer, Shankar planned to cast Rajasekhar as Senapati and Venkatesh as Chandu. Interestingly, Shankar intended to feature Tollywood hero Venkatesh as Chandu if Rajasekhar portrayed the Senapati character.

However, when Shankar presented the story to Kamal Haasan, he immediately agreed to take on the roles, so the story never reached Rajasekhar. This decision left audiences wondering what the film would have been like with Rajasekhar instead of Kamal Haasan. However, many believe that no one could have suited the role better than Haasan.