Now that it is almost sure that Vijay will not be part of the Tamil remake of ‘3 Idiots’, directed by Shankar, a guessing game is on in Kollywood as to who would replace the ‘Ilaya Thalapathi’?

While some say that Shankar has shortlisted a couple of young actors and would choose one among them, others say the director is not in a hurry and the ‘differences’ with Vijay could be sorted out.

“Shankar is a cool person who will rise like a phoenix by crossing all hurdles. Remember his last venture ‘Endhiran’ too was changed hands from Kamal Haasan to Shah Rukh Khan to Rajinikanth,” sources close to the director say.

They also recall that when the original producers of ‘Endhiran’ suffered from a financial crunch, Shankar was smart enough to convince Sun Pictures to acquire the project and to produce it in a whopping budget.