Few names command as much respect and reverence in the pantheon of Indian cinema as Amitabh Bachchan and Rajinikanth. As the two legends come together in TJ Gnanavel-directed Vettaiyan after a 32-year-gap, we look back at their past collaborations that remain etched in our memories.
Andhaa Kaanoon (1983)
The 1983 Hindi film Andhaa Kaanoon, directed by T. Rama Rao, marked Bachchan and Rajinikanth’s first-ever collaboration. Rajinikanth plays Vijay Singh, a man who seeks vengeance against three men responsible for killing his family members. Disillusioned with the law, Vijay opts for a violent approach. He comes across Jaan Nisar Khan (Amitabh Bachchan), a former forest officer wrongfully imprisoned for killing a poacher. Khan decides to assist Vijay in his quest for revenge. Together with Vijay’s sister Durga (Hema Malini), they begin taking down their targets one by one.
Watch it on: ZEE5
Geraftaar (1985)
Two years later, the duo came together again for Geraftaar, a multi-starrer action drama directed by Prayag Raaj. Amitabh Bachchan and Rajinikanth play cops in this action drama which also stars Kamal Haasan. The story revolves around Kapil Kumar Khanna, an honest inspector, who is killed while trying to arrest drug dealers. His son Karan (Amitabh Bachchan), wrongly accused of his father’s death, jumps into the ocean in despair but is saved by Hussein (Rajinikanth). Karan and Hussein soon become best friends. Years later, Karan, now an inspector, seeks justice for his family's suffering. Karan’s estranged brother, Kishen (Kamal Haasan), emerges as a struggling actor entangled in a web of crime and revenge. As the brothers reunite, they confront their past, leading to a final showdown with their enemies.
Watch it on: YouTube
Hum (1991)
Perhaps Bachchan and Rajinikanth’s most memorable collaboration came with Mukul S. Anand’s Hum in 1991. This multi-starrer featured Bachchan, Rajinikanth, Govinda, Kimi Katkar, Deepa Sahi, Shilpa Shirodkar, Danny Denzongpa, Anupam Kher and Kader Khan in an action-packed family drama.
Amitabh Bachchan plays Tiger, a dock worker who becomes the protector of his two younger half-brothers, Kumar and Vijay, after their parents are killed by Bhaktawar (Danny Denzongpa). Kumar (Rajinikanth) becomes a police officer and Vijay (Govinda) a carefree college student. Unaware of their shared traumatic past, the brothers lead a peaceful life until Bhaktawar reemerges. How the three brothers unite to exact revenge on Bhaktawar forms the rest of the story.
Watch it on: JioCinema
Recent Collaborations
Although Amitabh Bachchan and Rajinikanth haven’t shared screen space since Hum, they have been part of the same film. Bachchan provided the voiceover for the introduction sequence of a video game in Anubhav Sinha's 2011 film Ra.One. The film also features the character Chitti — originally played by Rajinikanth in Enthiran — depicted as a computer-generated character.
Bachchan also narrated the 2014 animated film Kochadaiiyaan, starring Rajinikanth. This collaboration was significant as it marked a fusion of traditional storytelling with advanced motion capture technology in Indian cinema.
Furthermore, during the COVID-19 pandemic, both actors appeared in Family - A Made At Home, a short film made in 2020.
