Actor Rajinikanth, who is basking in the success of 2.0, will next be seen playing a gangster in Karthik Subbaraj’s Petta, which is most likely to release for Pongal 2019.
Reports have already emerged that Rajinikanth will next join hands with Sarkar director AR Murugadoss for a yet-untitled project, which is likely to start rolling from mid-2019. While the project is yet to be officially announced, rumours have already started making the rounds that popular lensman Santosh Sivan has been signed to crank the camera. Santosh and Murugadoss go back a long way as they’ve worked together in Thuppakki (2012) and Spyder (2017).
The Murugadoss-Rajinikanth film was originally supposed to be bankrolled by Sun Pictures, who backed out after the recent Sarkar controversy. The latest update is that Lyca Productions, the makers of 2.0, have taken over the reins of the project and have said to have given the go ahead. However, the project won’t be officially announced till January 2019.
“Nothing has been confirmed as of now. It’s true that Rajinikanth sir has listened to Murugadoss’s story and he liked it, but he hasn’t officially signed the project yet. The official announcement can be expected to be made in January. Right now, all focus is on the release of Petta,” a source close to Rajinikanth said.
This would be the third outing for Lyca Productions with Rajinikanth after Kaala and 2.0.
In several of his recent interviews, Murugadoss hinted that his next film could be a fantasy adventure and one can assume that it might be the one with Rajinikanth.
Meanwhile, the first single — ‘Marana Mass’ — from Petta was released on 3 December and it has been well received. Composed and sung by Anirudh Ravichander, the song also features few lines by SP Balasubrahmanyam.