'Looking for a quality script': Kamal Haasan opens up on Sundar C's exit from Rajinikanth's 'Thalaivar 173'

It goes without saying that Sundar C dropping out of the Rajinikanth project bankrolled by Kamal Haasan has left the superstar's fans hugely disappointed. The first person to break the silence since Sundar C's press release is Kamal Haasan, who was asked by reporters about the unexpected development. 

While maintaining that he doesn't have anything to add to what Sundar C had already mentioned in his statement, the Ulaganayagan asked everyone to "expect the unexpected" and said that as a producer, his job is to look for a story that satisfies his leading man and that he might approach a young director for it. “Until my star is satisfied with the script, we will keep scouting for it. We are currently in the process of finalising a quality script." 

In Sundar C's statement, written just a week after the announcement of the project, he wrote that he is stepping away from the project, tentatively titled Thalaivar 173, due to "unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances." 

The project was planned to be release in time for Pongal 2027, through an association with Red Giant Movies.

Sundar C had previously directed Rajinikanth in the 1997 hit Arunachalam, which won three Tamil Nadu State Film awards, including Best Film. The director, whose last release was Aranmanai 4, has also directed Kamal Haasan in the cult classic Anbe Sivam, which co-starred R Madhavan.

The filmmaker is currently working on the sequel to the Nayanthara-starrer Mookuthi Amman, which he also wrote and is co-producing.