Vasu gets Rajini's nod for bigger role in Kuselan

The decks have been cleared for the shoot of "Kuselan", the Tamil remake of the Malayalam hit "Katha Parayumbol". Director P. Vasu has persuaded Rajinikanth to play a bigger role in "Kuselan" than that was donned by Mammootty in the original Mayalayam film, in which he made just a guest appearance.

The shooting of the Tamil remake had to be postponed because Rajini had reportedly told Vasu time and again that he was hard pressed for time to do an extended role in view of his commitment to director Shankar to play the lead role in his mega project "Robot".

The fans had brought pressure on Vasu with suggestions on how their idol should be portrayed. After rounds of talks with the superstar who finally gave in to the request, Vasu has in a statement said that Rajini would not just play a cameo and that his role would include song and fight sequences in "Kuselan".

According to latest reports, Rajini has given the director 25 days to complete his part of the shoot. The shooting for the first 10 days will start in Hyderabad next week. The second 10-day shoot will take place in Udumalpet and Pollachi. In the second schedule he will feature along with Pasupathi in the climax scene.

A song will be shot in Alleppy.

Music has been composed by G.V. Prakash in Chennai. It is said that of hundreds of tunes composed by Prakash, only a couple have been selected. The story revolves around a unique friendship between a reigning superstar (played by Rajini) and a poor hair dresser (played by Pasupathi of "Veyil" fame). These two characters were portrayed by Mammootty and Sreenivasan respectively in the Malayalam film.

While Nayanthara is paired opposite Rajini, Meena has been cast opposite Pasupathi. Comedy is by Vadivelu.

This is the 55th film to be produced by K. Balachander's "Kavithalaya". The Rajini starrer "Muthu" was also produced by Kavithalaya.