At a time when Goundamani charged on a par with Rajini
Goundamani to date stands as one of the most legendary comedians in Tamil cinema. Having been a part of over 300 films since 1964, the veteran was a part of almost every film made in the industry in the 80s and 90s.
Having shared screen space with Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Prabhu, Sathyaraj, Karthik, Sarathkumar, Arjun, Mohan, and Murali, he was considered almost as the lead actor in the films he was a part of. He was at his peak in the late 80s and even was rumoured to be the first actor to have received Rs 1 lakh a day as a daily remuneration.
The combination of Rajini and Goundamani proved to be a repeated success since 16 Vayathinile (1975). When Mannan happened in 1992, it was Goundamani’s call sheet that Rajini wanted the makers to block first. The film was one of the biggest successes for its comedy track of Rajini and Goundamani as Krishnan and Muthu respectively.
However, things weren’t as funny as it looked on screen. When Sivaji productions approached the comedian, the first thing he asked for was if it would be him in a Rajini film or Rajini in a Goundamani film. He also went on to ask for Rajini’s remuneration, which was Rs 90 lakh at that time. The only condition that Goundamani put forth was that he would be a part of the film if he were paid Rs 10 lakh more than what Rajini was paid (Rs 1 crore).
The makers couldn’t afford him and went back to Rajini to tell him the difficulties they had faced in negotiating with the ace comedian. But Rajini was persistent. The production team again met with Goundamani and finalised him for a whopping Rs 75 lakh only next to Rajinikanth.
