India, Dec. 10 -- Superstar Rajinikanth's 1999 hit Padayappa is all set to re-release in theatres. Ahead of the re-release, the superstar revisited the journey of the film in a special video wherein he revealed that not Ramya Krishnan but Aishwarya Rai was his first choice to play the role of Neelambari in the film. However, the actor was uninterested in the project.

Talking about Aishwarya's rejection, Rajinikanth said, "We wanted Aishwarya Rai to do the character of Neelambari. We tried to reach out to her after a lot of difficulties. If she had said yes to the movie, I was willing to wait for even 2-3 years because that character was like that. It was imperative for that role to click - but we heard that she was not interested. Sridev...