Kamal Haasan reveals how Dharman with Rajinikanth was born on a flight 40 years ago; director compares it to Padayappa

THalaivar 173, the much-awaited shoot starring Rajinikanth and produced by Kamal Haasan, has eventually locked its theatre director and rubric. After ternion director changes, Ashwath Marimuthu has been finalised as the director for Dharman. At an event in Chennai announcing the film, Kamal revealed that it has been 40 years in the making, while Ashwath compared it to some of Rajinikanth’s classic hits. (Also Read: ‘Whenever I speak, it becomes a problem’: Rajinikanth hits back at trolls after controversy around his comments on Vijay)Dharman was born on a flight 40 years agoKamal spoke at the event about how it has been four decades since he and Rajinikanth decided to work together. “Thank you for being in the market till I made this film. (folds hands) I thank the industry for it,” said Kamal, addressing Rajinikanth. He then spoke of their 50-year friendship, noting that Rajinikanth began with supporting roles, but they became equal stars in less than three years.“Once, during a flight to Bombay, people kept asking us to do a film together. But acting in the same film then would mean sharing a biscuit. So, we decided we would both make a film, but either I would produce it or he would. We have been talking like that for 40 years now,” he said, “Even when we opened this office three to four years ago, this is the person I called. We stood on the terrace and spoke about it. And now, we are doing two films together.” Ashwath also hinted about Dharman’s story at the event and said, “It’s a family-oriented thriller. My favourite film of Rajinikanth’s is Padayappa (1999), and of Kamal sir’s is Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu (2006). So, I hope you understood… think of it as a mix of the two.”About DharmanBefore it was decided that Thalaivar 173 would be Dharman, multiple directors were approached. “Kamal gave me complete freedom, saying he would leave everything to me and wouldn't even ask for the story. That placed a huge responsibility on me,” said Rajinikanth at the event. He also spoke about how KS Ravikumar, Sundar C and Cibi Chakravarthi were finalised before Ashwath’s film was finalised.Rajinikanth revealed that Ravikumar’s film didn’t pan out, and Sundar exited the project due to other commitments. He noted that Cibi wrote the story of a nuclear scientist, stating that the film was based on a ‘sensitive subject’ and was ‘time-consuming’, which is why they had postponed it. Kamal and Rajinikanth will also reunite for Nelson Dilipkumar’s yet-to-be-titled film, tentatively titled KH X RK Reunion.