Here's how Thalapathy Vijay's cameo in Akshay Kumar's Rowdy Rathore happened

In the wake of the recent success of Leo, a video from a past interview with Prabhudeva has resurfaced online. In this video, Prabhudeva discusses his relationship with Thalapathy Vijay and reveals an interesting behind-the-scenes fact about how he convinced Vijay to make a cameo appearance in his 2012 directorial venture, Rowdy Rathore.

Starring Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar in the lead role, Rowdy Rathore was the official Hindi remake of the Telugu blockbuster Vikramarkudu. Prabhudeva might have just thought that Vijay's presence in the movie could help boost the movie's popularity in southern states, especially in Tamil Nadu. This move was possibly aimed at expanding the movie's audience beyond the Hindi-speaking belt, considering the success of director SS Rajamouli's Vikramarkudu in the South.

It seems Prabhudeva didn't have to put in a lot of effort to convince Vijay to extend his support to Rowdy Rathore. A simple phone call was all it took.

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"I did a Hindi film, Rowdy Rathore. At the time, I think Vijay was in Mumbai shooting for Thuppaki. I called him on the phone and informed him about the song I was shooting. And I asked him if he could make a guest appearance in the song. And he immediately said, yes," Prabhudeva recalled, adding "he's just a sweet person." 

Prabhudeva-Vijay's movie collaborations

Prabhudeva has choreographed many songs for Vijay's movies. He has also directed Vijay in two movies, including Pokkiri and Villu. While Pokkiri was a box-office blockbuster, Villu was both a critical and commercial disaster. Following this, the duo did not collaborate on similar projects.

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However, Prabhudeva and Vijay will be seen sharing screen space in the upcoming movie Thalapathy 68. Written and directed by Venkat Prabhu, the movie's supporting cast has prominent stars from the Tamil film industry, including Prabhudeva and Prashanth.