Mohanlal in `Sivaji`?

A news from Moviebuzz.

Is Mohanlal playing a crucial role in Rajnikanth?s Sivaji directed by Shankar? Sources close to the actor confirms that Shankar and Rajnikanth had spoken to the actor about this ?great role? in Sivaji, where he gets enough screen space with the superstar.
It seems that this role was originally meant for Amitabh Bachchan, a close friend of Rajni, who fell sick and is now not in a position to give dates as he has to complete his Bollywood assignments and KBC-2, which are his priorities.

And now this coveted role has gone to Mohanlal whom Shankar and Rajni rates as a ?fantastic actor who has awesome screen presence and super-reach among the masses?. Rajni-Mohanlal combination is a casting coup and a win-win situation at the box-office.
Remember that two of Mohanlal films like Thenmavin Kombathu and Manichitrathazhu were remade by Rajnikanth as Muthu and Chandramukhi in Tamil. And there are rumours that Sivaji itself is a mixture of an old Mohanlal hit Naduvazhikal and the recent Natturajavu, though Shankar has denied it!

Meanwhile when contacted, Mohanlal who is off to US this Saturday (Dec 17) with buddy Priyadarshan for a 20-day holiday neither denies nor is willing to confirm this news about his role in Sivaji. He is currently very busy with two films and the release of his latest film Tanmatra in Malayalam for Christmas.

By Moviebuzz( sify.com )
Tuesday, 13 December , 2005, 11:25