Sathyaraj to feature in Kamal Haasan's upcoming film Indian 2?

According to sources, Sathyaraj is in talks to star in Kamal Haasan's Indian 2. The actor was last seen with Kamal in the 1986 action-adventure film Vikram, which recently received a sequel directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj. Both the actors collaborated on several films including Kaaki Sattai, Japanil Kalyanaraman, Sattam En Kayil, Mangamma Sabatham and so on. The makers are keeping details about Sathyaraj's role in Shankar-directorial under wraps. (The Baahubali actor played the antagonist in Nanban, which was directed by Shankar, too).

The sequel to Shankar's 1996 film, Indian 2, follows Senapathy, a freedom fighter turned vigilante played by Kamal Haasan. The film's production was recently halted due to an unfortunate accident. The film equally faced a number of challenges, including COVID restrictions and Kamal's brief stint in politics and Bigg Boss Tamil, as the show anchor.

Sathyaraj was most recently seen in RJ Balaji's comedy-drama Veetla Vishesham, a remake of the Hindi film Badhaai Ho.

Indian 2 stars Siddharth, Priya Bhavani Shankar, Rakul Preet Singh, Gulshan Grover, and Kajal Aggarwal in addition to Kamal Hasaan. Ace actor Karthik and Kamal Haasan are rumoured to be working together on this ambitious project. However, we await an official word. Subaskaran is producing the film under his Lyca Productions banner, with Anirudh composing music. The Indian 2 release date has yet to be announced by the producers.

Notably, at the success meet of Vikram, Kamal Haasan said, "Indian 2 is definitely happening. As far as a sequel to Vikram is concerned, I can assure that it'll be directed by Lokesh and that's something I'm putting out here without even asking him."

Shankar, on the other hand, blamed Lyca Productions for the project's three-year delay last year. He told the Madras High Court in 2021 that shooting for Indian 2 would begin in 2017 and that Kamal Haasan had asked him to complete the film before the 2019 parliamentary election. Shankar was working on Rajinikanth's Robot 2.0 for Lyca Productions at the time of the announcement, but 95% of the work had already been completed.

Asserting that Indian-2 was extremely close to his heart and that he had no intention of abandoning the project, Shankar stated that he was willing to finish it if the production house settled all dues to all actors and technicians and provided unwavering cooperation in completing the project. He claimed that the production company could not hold him responsible for the February 2020 shooting spot crane accident that killed two crew members.