In the Tamil-Hindi movie, Kamal and Shah Rukh played friends Saket Ram and Amjad Ali Khan, respectively.
At the trailer launch of his upcoming movie "
"When we work together, we are all just people. I don't see a superstar. He doesn't see a super director. We are friends. Shah Rukh sahib made that film for free... That cannot be done by a superstar. That can be done only by a fan. A connoisseur of art and a good actor. I'm ever thankful to him. Later on, you give us those titles and we very shyly accept it," Kamal told reporters here on Tuesday night.
The 69-year-old also spoke about how he wanted screen icon
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Unfortunately, Dilip Kumar had decided to retire from cinema by the time he reached out to him.
"I wanted to do it only with Yusuf sahib (Dilip Kumar's real name). When he said I'm not going to do any more films. Then, I sold the rights to somebody because I didn't want to and I couldn't think of anybody else. And so that was a dream that didn't come through," Kamal recalled.
Eventually, Amrish Puri played the father to Anil Kapoor in "Virasat", the 1997 Hindi remake of "Thevar Magan".
Kamal said he used to come to Mumbai to wish the late star on his birthday on December 11.
"I'm a great fan and a student of Yusuf saab. I don't know how many people know because it was a secret fact. I used to come here whenever I could on December 11 on his birthday and kneel before him to kiss his hand," he added.
"Hindustani 2: Zero Tolerance" is a sequel to Kamal's hit 1996 film "
The movie was directed by S. Shankar, who is returning for the sequel, slated to be released on July 12.
Besides Kamal, the sequel stars Kajal Aggarwal, Siddharth, and Rakul Preet Singh in key roles. It is produced by Subaskaran Allirajah's Lyca Productions and Udhayanidhi Stalin's Red Giant Movies.