A couple of days back, Soundarya Rajinikanth announced a re-release of her father's 1999 blockbuster Padayappa, on the occasion of his birthday on Dec. 12. On Monday, Rajinikanth shared a video of him reminiscing about the experience of making the KS Ravikumar directorial, while also dropping an unexpected update: Padayappa 2 is in the works!
In the video where the superstar dons the same outfit now associated with his eponymous character, he said that Padayappa was that rare movie for which even women broke the gates to rush to see — something he never witnessed in his 50-year journey. He also revealed that the story came from him.
As for the sequel idea, it came out of the urge to follow the pattern of titles like Enthiran and sequel 2.0 and the upcoming Jailer sequel. He clarified that the story is currently in discussion and they will make it if it comes out well.
"The title is going to be Neelambari (aka Neelambari: Padayappa 2). It should be exciting,” he added.
But are the fans excited? The feedback on social media seems to lean towards the negative. Some are wondering how Neelambari (played by Ramya Krishnan) would come back given the way her story arc ended in Padayappa, while some others don't want Rajinikanth to "spoil" a classic.
Ramya Krishnan's Neelambari was the antagonist, an example of unusual casting for the time, which paid off. The actress played a woman seeking vengeance against the titular character for rejecting her advances decades ago.
The last Rajinikanth film to re-release was Manithan. Padayappa will be released on Dec. 12, 2025 to not only celebrate Rajinikanth's birthday, but also commemorate his 50-year journey in the industry.
Written and directed by K. S. Ravikumar, the revenge drama also saw Sivaji Ganesan in his penultimate role, along with Sowmya Sathyanarayana, Lakshmi, Radha Ravi, Nassar, Abbas, Sithara and Preetha. A. R. Rahman composed the hit soundtrack.