When Rajinikanth Met Amitabh: South Remakes That Lit Up The Big Screen

Two of India’s biggest celebrities Rajinikanth and Amitabh Bachchan have been entertaining film lovers with their performances for decades now. They both receive immense love and support from their fans. So, it is interesting to know that Rajnikanth has acted in films that were remakes of Amitabh’s superhits. Let us have a look at these films:

Billa (Don):

Billa, which was released in 1980, is the remake of Amitabh’s cult classic Don (1978). It is one of the biggest films of Rajnikanth’s career which saw him in one of his most memorable roles.

Dharmatin Thalaivan (Kasme Vaade):

Rajnikanth’s Dharmatin Thalaivan, released in 1988 is based on Kasme Vaade of Bachchan released a decade earlier. Kasme Vaade’s cast includes Amitabh Bachchan, Randhir Kapoor and Rakhee Gulzar while Dharmatin Thalaivan had Rajnikanth, Suhasini Maniratnam and Prabhu in main roles.

Padikathavan (Khud-Daar):

This movie is a remake of Amitabh’s Khud-Daar, released in 1982. The cast included Amitabh Bachchan, Vinod Mehra and Parween Bobby. Padikathavan was released three years later and it stars another Tamil superstar Sivaji Ganesan, Rajnikanth and Ambika.

Velaikkaran (Namak Halal):

Namak Halal gave us a very iconic Bollywood duo of Amitabh Bachchan and Shashi Kapoor. It was released in 1982. The remake featured Rajnikanth, Sarath Babu, Amala and Pallavi and was released in 1987. The makers stayed faithful to the original because they even included the infamous dialogue, “I can talk English, I can walk English, I can laugh English, I can run English, because English is such a funny language,” in their language.

Panakkaran (Laawaris):

Panakkaran was released in 1990, a remake of Laawaris that got released in 1982. The film stars Rajnikanth and Gautami. The original had Amitabh Bachchan and Zeenat Amaan in the lead.

Shankar Salim Simon (Amar Akbar Anthony):

The Tamil version of Amar Akbar Anthony, Shankar Salim Simon, was released in 1978. In the Tamil version, the leads were Rajnikanth as Simon, Vijayakumar as Shankar and Jai Ganesh as Salim. The original movie, Amar Akbar Anthony featured Amitabh Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor and Vinod Khanna in the titular roles. It was released in 1977.