Trendwatch: The Idli with Sarson Ka Saag culture deepens

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Sanjay Dutt and Raveena Tandon Thadani starred in KGF 2 and Ajay Devgn and Alia Bhatt featured in prominent cameos in RRR. Nagarjuna Akkineni made an impressive cameo in Brahmastra: Part 1—Shiva, and all these three films became major hits. So now, the North-South combination, which never really had enough momentum earlier despite South heroes frequently appearing in Hindi movies, has suddenly got propelled to a new high.

There is confirmed news now that NTR Jr. will be Hrithik Roshan’s antagonist in War 2, which will be produced by Aditya Chopra. In a scoop, we have come to know that Ayan Mukerji is going to direct the film—which is the new and exciting assignment he talked about while informing the media earlier this week about the Brahmastra sequels! What’s more, the film will release before their Tiger 3 and a link will be made with it in the YRF Spy Universe!

As a source informed the publication, Variety, “NTR Jr. is one of the most respected and followed icons from South India. He is said to be extremely choosy about his films and if he has given the film a nod, it means War 2 is eclipsing the first film in terms of plot as well as scale. Hrithik Roshan versus NTR Jr. will be a fight to remember. Aditya Chopra had to take War 2 to a whole level in scale and NTR Jr.’s inclusion has made this proposition extremely delicious for audiences.”

Salman Khan’s Eid 2023 release, Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, already has Venkatesh Daggubati cast with him and Pooja Hegde. In the song Yentamma, Ram Charan also makes a cameo. This is Ram Charan’s return gift to the Mumbai superstar after Godfather, in which Salman obliged the former’s father, Chiranjeevi, with a crucial cameo.

Here’s another scoop: director Sukumar has modified the script of Pushpa:The Rule—Part 2 to include a major Mumbai A-lister—either one of the Khans or Ajay Devgn. The sequel will have twice the budget of the 2021 hit, Pushpa:The Rise—Part 1. The South’s Fahadh Faasil remains the arch villain for the Allu Arjun film, but the Mumbai star will do an extended cameo in this movie on red sandalwood smuggling. The film was a surprise hit even in Northern Indian territories, like KGF 2, which came later, and this has obviously triggered such a decision.

The site Tellychakkar.com had also reported three months ago that Aamir Khan will be seen along with NTR Jr. again in a major project. Also there are reports that actor Aamir Khan has also been approached for Ghajini 2 and a full fledged comedy. There was also buzz that the makers of KGF 2 are keen on casting Aamir in an action project.

And there’s more: South stars Vijay Sethupati and Nayanthata co-star with Shah Rukh Khan in Jawan, his home production directed by Atlee from the South. Let us not forget that Vijay was also recently seen in a key role in Raj & DK’s web series featuring Shahid Kapoor on Amazon Prime Video, Farzi, while Venkatesh Daggubati again and Rana Daggubati worked in the purely Hindi series, Rana Naidu on Netflix.

The idli-sarson ka saag combination seems to have hit a golden streak. After all, it’s a win-win situation for all, besides boosting camaraderie between stars from Mumbai and the South. The combinations are likely to get headier, as sambhar-chutney will also be aligned with makke di roti!

And what better way can be there to celebrate 40 years of the first-such example: Andhaa Kaanoon, the 1983 blockbuster, which brought together Hindi cinema’s superstar Amitabh Bachchan with the South mega-star Rajinikanth (then billed as Rajnikant!) in his Hindi debut!