MUMBAI: Rivals for decades, Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan recently came together to steer clear of each other in Chennai and Mumbai. They sorted out talks of an impending clash between the former‘s Kochadaiyaan and the latter‘s Vishwaroopam that were to release post-Diwali.

Apparently, at the meeting behind closed doors, Kamal Haasan decided to advance the release of Vishwaroopam, so that there could be a clear gap of two months between the two releases. Accordingly, the Kamal Haasan film will be seen on the big screen before that of Rajinikanth.

While Rajinikant‘s film is still in the post-production stage, Kamal Hassan‘s film is almost ready. Vishwaroopam will release in October while the tentative release for Kochadaiyyan has been fixed for either December or January.

"We‘ve made a pact not to clash. It would do no good to either of us to release films together. It‘s because of economics that Rajini and I have not come together since our mentor K Balachander‘s Ninaithale Inikkum in 1979. No filmmaker can afford to cast us together, except me," Kamal Haasan has said.

Interestingly, Ninaithale Inikkum, that has both the veterans, is being re-released as a technically enhanced digital-dolby experience.