After 24 years, Madhavan's hit film Run is all set to return to theatres for a re-release and director N Lingusamy is nostalgic as well as ecstatic about the drama's return to the big screen. But when the film released back in 2002, it was not without its share of controversies, partly due to its clash with Rajinikanth's Baba.
Speaking at a recent press event, Lingusamy said, "Once people knew Baba was coming, they postponed all other films. I requested AM Rathnam sir not to postpone our film. I told him that I will write a handwritten letter to Rajinikanth sir. I am a big fan of him. Audiences were very enthusiastic for Baba's release. They didn't know what was coming."
Once the film released, and Baba underperformed at the box office and earned mixed reviews from audiences and critics, Lingusamy noted how fans ran from Rajinikanth's shows to watch his film. "I personally saw how fans came to watch the 'Theradi Veethiyile' song and the subway fight sequence," he said, adding how Rajinikanth praised him after looking at the posters of Run.
"I remember Rajinikanth sir appreciating me saying the posters were 'amazing' for Run. He then went to Bengaluru and enquired about which films are doing well and the response he got was Run. Even after 20 days, it was Run. Once he came back, I went to meet him and meetings with him usually run for hours. I discussed many things with him that day," he added, calling his film a "trendsetter."
"Suddenly you would see male heroes in other movies behaving like Madhavan's character in Run. Many producers and industry people would ask, 'Tell me a story like Run.' They would expect the same from me as well," he said.
Run follows Shiva (Madhavan) who tries to woo Priya (Meera Jasmine), who warns Shiva to not pursue her. Shiva realises that Priya's brother is a gangster, which puts him in danger. The rest of the film follows the various obstacles placed before Shiva and Priya in their quest to be together. The cast of Run also includes Vivek, Raghuvaran, Atul Kulkarni, Anu Hasan, Janaki Sabesh, SN Lakshmi, among others.
The film will be re-released on July 10.
