With the rise in pan-India movies, the gap between North Indian and South Indian cinema is becoming narrow. This has also led to an increase in collaboration in collaboration between the artists from the different film industries in India. But do you know that one of the first big collaborations between North and South began with the 1983 film ‘Andhaa Kaanoon’. The movie marked the Bollywood debut of the superstar Rajinikanth, who was already a big name in the Tamil cinema at that time. Legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan was seen in the film in an extended cameo role and the movie was a blockbuster. 

 ‘Andhaa Kaanoon’ also featured other big names including  Hema Malini, Reena Roy, Prem Chopra, Danny Denzongpa, Pran, Madan Puri and Amrish Puri. The movie revolves around Vijay, who takes revenge for his parents’ death with the help of a forest officer. Amitabh Bachchan and Rajinikanth got a chance to work again the recent Tamil movie ‘Vettaiyan’, which also became a blockbuster. The movie also marked the Tamil debut of Big B. 

At the audio launch of ‘Vettaiyan’ in Chennai, Rajinikanth recalled how the ‘Pink’ star helped him bag his first Hindi film. He shared, “I got the chance to work in Andhaa Kaanoon only because of Amitji. The remake of Sattam Oru Iruttarai (1981)… they initially wanted Mithun Chakraborty to do that role. Kamal Haasan had just made a mark there with the success of Ek Duuje Ke Liye (1981). So, Amitji suggested my name and promised to do the guest role if they casted me. That’s how I landed that role. Then we did Geraftaar, in which I played a cameo role, and Hum. All three became big hits.” 

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Further praising Amitabh Bachchan, he added, “Once he’s done, Amitji would return and ask the writer and director a lot of questions in detail. ‘Why is this character speaking like this? Would they speak like this? What’s the scene before and after this?’ He wanted all the details and logical answers to his queries. Once convinced, he would go back to his corner, jot down a few things and then ask the makers if he could tweak a particular word to ensure smoother delivery and flow. With his father (Harivansh Rai Bachchan) being a renowned Hindi poet and writer, Amitji too has a very strong command of language. His suggestions were always clear because he had read the script in detail.” 

Recently, the movies like ‘Kalki 2898 AD’, ‘Kanguva’, ‘KGF’, ‘Brahmastra’ witnessed the collaboration of North and South Indian actors.