Earlier this Sunday, Rajinikanth said that he felt delighted to see Vijay become the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and did not feel envious of him for it. At the same time, the Superstar quipped that he would have felt envious of Kamal Haasan if he were to become the CM.

In an interaction with the media, Kamal was asked about what he felt about Rajinikanth's comment. The legendary actor stated that the Superstar made the comment in jest and with a smile and did not mean it seriously. "We have been competing with each other but never been jealous of each other. We are the best sportsmen you can find in Tamil Nadu," Kamal said, referring to his equation with Rajinikanth. He added that things would have been the same if he and the Superstar were cricketers as well.

Kamal Haasan did not contest in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Elections this time around; instead, his party Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) allied with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).

Kamal has often tried to diffuse talks of a rivalry between him and Rajinikanth. In a conversation with Star Plus, for example, the actor said, "It is not rivalry. We are both from the same camp." Kamal added that market forces played a part in creating a perception of them being rivals. "We played along because you need two goals to make the match interesting," the actor added.

Kamal and Rajinikanth are set to reunite after a long time for a film, tentatively titled KH x RK, to be directed by Nelson. Set to be produced by Inban Udhayanidhi under Red Giant Movies, the film has composer Anirudh, cinematographer Rajiv Menon, art director DRK Kiran, costume designer Pallavi Singh, and editor R Nirmal.