The Kamal Haasan-Bae Suzy film that almost changed Asian cinema: Why the K-star's Indian 2 debut was scrapped

In the high-stakes world of international cinema, few projects have carried the weight of expectation quite like S. Shankar’s Indian 2. Conceived as a grand, pan-Asian expansion of the 1996 cult classic, the sequel was meant to be a bridge between the industries of India and East Asia. Central to this vision was a collaboration that seemed like a blend of cross-cultural marketing: the starring of Kamal Haasan with South Korean superstar Bae Suzy.

Yet, as the film finally made its way to theaters in 2024, the "pan-Asian" elements were largely absent, and the much-hyped casting of Bae Suzy had become a footnote in one of the most troubled production histories in Kollywood. This is the story of a landmark collaboration that nearly changed Indo-Korean cinema, only to be dismantled by a series of tragic and unforeseen circumstances.

The original Indian (1996) ended with the vigilante Senapathy (Kamal Haasan) escaping to Hong Kong, promising to return when the country needed him again.

By January 2019, reports from major outlets like The Times of India and The Hindu confirmed that Shankar was scouting locations in Taiwan. The narrative logic was sound: Senapathy had spent his decades-long exile in East Asia, mastering martial arts and living among the local populace. To ground this in reality, Shankar sought a prominent East Asian face to star alongside Haasan.

Bae Suzy, a former K-pop idol turned A-list actress (Architecture 101, Vagabond), was the primary choice. Her inclusion was strategic, aimed at capturing the burgeoning Hallyu (Korean Wave) audience in India while giving the film a genuine "Pan-Asian" aesthetic. The plan involved a significant schedule in Taipei where Suzy would play a pivotal role in Senapathy’s journey.

The collaboration didn't fail due to creative differences or a lack of interest. Instead, the project was swallowed by a series of disasters.

The momentum of the film was irrevocably broken on February 19, 2020. During a night shoot at EVP Film City in Chennai, a massive crane carrying heavy lighting equipment collapsed. The accident killed three crew members, including an assistant director, and injured ten others. Kamal Haasan and leading lady Kajal Aggarwal had narrow escapes. The trauma led to an immediate halt in production and sparked a series of legal battles between Lyca Productions and Shankar.

Just as the production team began to navigate the legal and emotional fallout of the accident, the COVID-19 pandemic struck. India and South Korea enforced strict travel bans. The planned Taiwan schedule, the very heart of the Bae Suzy collaboration, was reported as an impossibility. During the two-year hiatus that followed, the logistical feasibility of flying an international star to a shifting production schedule evaporated.

By 2021, the film was mired in litigation. Lyca Productions moved the Madras High Court to restrain Shankar from directing other films (specifically the Ram Charan-starrer Game Changer) before finishing Indian 2. In countersuits, Shankar highlighted unpaid remunerations for cast and crew, while the budget was slashed and renegotiated multiple times. And so, owing to the fluctuations, it became difficult for Suzy to come on board.

When filming finally resumed in 2022 with the entry of Red Giant Movies as co-producers, the project had changed shape. The sheer volume of footage Shankar had captured, combined with new sequences, led to the decision to split the film into two parts: Indian 2 (2024) and Indian 3.

The "Taiwanese" segments remained in the script—filming did eventually take place in Taipei—but the character originally intended for Suzy was either significantly reworked or replaced by other cast members. When Indian 2 premiered in July 2024, audiences saw Senapathy in Taipei, but the promised "landmark Indo-Korean moment" was nowhere to be found.

Instead, the film featured a diverse but predominantly Indian ensemble including Siddharth, Rakul Preet Singh, and S.J. Suryah. The international flair was limited to cameo appearances, such as the South African model Demi-Leigh Tebow in a musical sequence.