Ahead of the re-release of Padayappa to mark the 75th birthday of Rajinikanth, the makers of the film unveiled a long video in which the actor is seen going back 25 years to recollect how the film came about. In the video, he revealed that Neelambari (Ramya Krishnan) from Padayappa was inspired by Nandhini from Kalki's Ponniyin Selvan.
He explained, "When I was in the 21st year of my career, I had already decided that in my 25th year I would produce a film in the name of my friends. The one-liner of Padayappa was actually suggested by me. Ponniyin Selvan by Kalki is one of my favourite novels, and I am a big fan of the character Nandhini. I wanted to create a full-fledged story built around a character like her. That idea stayed with me for nearly two to three years, and it eventually became the one-liner of Padayappa.”
In the same video, the Jailer 2 actor also revealed that he's developing a story for a sequel to Padayappa, with the focus on Neelambari. He said the story for the second part is currently under discussion and would be a celebration of a film like the first one.
Padayappa, directed by KS Ravikumar, also starred Sivaji Ganesan, Soundarya, Radha Ravi, Nassar, Manivannan, and Abbas. Produced by Rajinikanth's Arunachala Cine Creations, the film still remains a favourite among Tamil fans for its strong storyline and screenplay, and also for AR Rahman's soundtrack and songs.
