Why were Pasupathy, Meena, and Nayanthara absent?

The Kuselan audio release function on June 30 was no doubt a gala event but many eye brows were raised over the conspicuous absence of three lead characters Pasupathy, Meena and Nayanthara.

Their names and pictures were not found in the publicity material displayed at the venue of the function. Neither director P. Vasu nor Producers K. Balachander of Kavithalaya and Vijayakumar of Seven Arts Films spoke about Pasupathy or Meena or Nayanthara.

The talk in Kollywood is that the three key players in "Kuselan" had boycotted the function because they were left out of the film promos.

"Kuselan" is a remake of the Malayalam film "Katha Parayumbol" featuring Mammootty and P. Srinivasan. Rajini and Pasupathy don the roles of 'superstar' and 'barber' played by Mammootty and Srinivasan in Malayalam. While Mammootty made a brief appearance, Srinivasan played the dominant role.

Rajinikanth had himself announced that his role was 25 per cent while that of Pasupathy was 75 percent. It looked obvious that Pasupathy was the hero with Meena playing his wife while Nayanthara was the 'heroine' of the film.

As the shooting progressed, P Vasu disclosed that in deference to the wishes of Rajini's fans, the actor's screen presence would be increased. The producers marketed the film as also the audio as Rajini's 'extravaganza'.

When Jagapathi Raju, who plays the 'superstar' in the Telugu version titled "Kathanayakudu", was seated on the dais and honoured, the conspicuous absence of Pasupathy, Meena and Nayanthara puzzled many in the gathering.

Pasupathy tried to be modest when contacted by mediapersons to ask him why he could not make it to the function. He said he was away at Dindukkal for the shooting of "Vedigundu Murugesan" in which he plays the lead role. Sources close to Nayanthara said the actress was preoccupied with "Aegan". On behalf of Meena it is said she had a shooting schedule in Hyderabad.

When A.R. Rahman, Vadivelu and artistes took time off their hectic schedules to attend the function, why Pasupathy, Meena and Nayanthara were not there is the question being raised in film circles.

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