In Venkat Prabhu’s The Greatest of All Time (GOAT), there is a scene at a cricket stadium where Vijay gives a gun to Sivakarthikeyan and tells him, “Hold the gun, Siva. Thousands of lives on the ground depend on you.” Many view the scene as a case of Vijay, in his penultimate film, passing on the baton of being a star to Sivakarthikeyan. AR Murugadoss, who has directed Vijay in films such as Thuppakki, Kaththi, and Sarkar, also considers it the same. In an interview with Galatta Plus, journalist Bharadwaj Rangan asked Murugadoss about whether he concurs with the popular interpretation of the The Greatest of All Time scene. In his response, Murugadoss, said, “Sivakarthikeyan told me that there is such a scene immediately after the completion of shoot. It made me excited, and I knew that audiences would have a blast with it in theatres.”
The filmmaker, who makes his first collaboration with Sivakarthikeyan on the upcoming film Madharaasi, also said that Vijay doing something like this for one of his co-actors is a big deal. Vijay’s character addresses his co-star as Siva in the film, which Murugadoss suggests is short for Sivakarthikeyan. “It is a planned moment to entertain the audience that goes beyond the core plot,” said the filmmaker.
It is worth noting that Venkat Prabhu's films are known for their signature meta references. For example, the title of his second film Saroja alludes to a song from his directorial debut Chennai 600028.
Vijay is planning to retire from acting after Jana Nayagan, his upcoming film with director H Vinoth. He made the decision public even before GOAT’s release. Jana Nayagan is slated for a Pongal 2026 release. On the other hand, Murugadoss and Sivakarthikeyan's Madharaasi is set to hit theatres on September 05 this year. The film also reunites Murugadoss with his Thuppakki star Vidyut Jammwal.
