Vijay Sir Was Never Told About Run: Lingusamy Drops Surprising Details On Why Thalapathy's Father REJECTED Film

Run,

the iconic Tamil cult film is set to release on July 10. Ahead of the release, director N. Lingusamy has shared an interesting behind-the-scenes story about the 2002 blockbuster. The filmmaker revealed that the action drama was originally written for Thalapathy Vijay but was turned down before the actor was even informed about the project. The film eventually went to Madhavan, becoming a landmark in his career and one of Tamil cinema's biggest hits. In a recent promotional interview Lingusamy spoke on the missed opportunity, Vijay's reaction after the film's success, and how Run ultimately shaped the careers of everyone associated with it.

Run Was Originally Written for Vijay

Speaking to Galatta Plus, Lingusamy revealed that he had originally developed Run with now Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay in mind. After the success of his directorial debut Aanandham, the script reached RB Choudary, who said no to the film, then it reached AVM Productions. Recalling the meeting, the director said, "Saravanan sir (producer) heard the story and liked it very much. He then sent it to Vijay's father SA Chandrasekhar, who said 'this is love with action. But they were making Thamizhan then, and he felt that after a film like Thamizhan, this one would look small. So they decided not to do it. And Vijay sir was never told about it."

Lingusamy admitted the rejection remained one of the biggest disappointments of his career. "Of all the films I was supposed to do with Vijay sir, this was the most important one. I missed it. And after that, he went on to do the remake of Okkadu, which became Ghilli," he said.The film eventually found its way to Madhavan, who was then known primarily for romantic roles. Run became his first full-fledged action film and went on to emerge as one of the biggest Tamil blockbusters of 2002.

Vijay's Reaction After Run Became Blockbuster

Despite missing out on the project, Vijay later congratulated Lingusamy after Run became a massive success. The director recalled meeting the actor at a party hosted at Le Meridien. "Vijay sir walked in and everyone’s attention was on him. He saw me standing at a distance and came straight to me, shook my hand and said, 'You have done a fantastic job anna.' I will never forget that," Lingusamy shared "I was very angry when he did not listen to the second half of the script, so I expressed my displeasure to him on the spot, but he calmed me down by saying I am a talent the film industry needs. I began to smile."

Talking about Vijay's rise over the years, Lingusamy added, "Nobody imagined he would come this far and make an impact this big. He showed up and did it."Run also starred Meera Jasmine, Raghuvaran and Anu Haasan. The film's interval twist and songs were highly talked about.