Veteran Tamil actor Janagaraj has tickled the funny bones of audiences with his unique brand of comedy for decades. His perfect comic timing and effortless performances as a supporting actor helped compliment the performance of the lead actors in many films, leading to its success at the box office. One leading actor that Janagaraj often collaborated with was superstar Kamal Haasan. The duo have worked together in many films like Nayagan, Vikram, Apoorva Sagodharargal and Vettri Vizhaa. The last time Kamal Haasan and Janagaraj paired up was the 1991 film Guna. The film has now come into the limelight once again due to the Malayalam film Manjummel Boys, as it features the Guna caves. The caves were made famous by the film Guna. Fans wondered why Janagaraj never appeared in a Kamal Haasan film after Guna, given the successful track record that their collaboration had.
Now years later, producer and filmmaker Rasi Azhagappan — who was an assistant director on the sets of Guna — has opened up about how Kamal Haasan and Janagaraj drifted apart after an incident during the making of the film.
In a recent interview, Rasi Azhagappan said that both Kamal Haasan and Janagaraj were from the Alwarpet neighbourhood of Chennai. They played cricket together and were good friends. The rift started during a dubbing session for Guna at AVM Garden Theatre. Azhagappan said that he was giving dialogues to Janagaraj to dub, while co-actor RS Shivaji and director Santhana Bharathi were also present. After Janagaraj dubbed a few lines, Azhagappan okayed it ,but RS Shivaji wanted him to dub it again. When Janagaraj refused, it led to a heated argument between them, with Santhana Bharathi also taking Shivaji’s side. Ultimately, Janagaraj was physically assaulted by the duo. The matter became so serious that it reached the union.
Kamal Haasan reportedly took Santhana Bharathi’s side during the dispute and Janagaraj was hurt by this move. This is why he never appeared in any Kamal Haasan film after Guna.
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