Thalaivar 168: Rajinikanth film may be titled Viyoogam, Jyotika and Keerthy Suresh land key roles
Rajinikanth’s next film, to be directed by Viswasam director Siva, may be called Viyoogam. An official announcement is expected soon.
Actor Rajinikanth’s upcoming Tamil film, which will be directed by Siva, is rumoured to have been titled Viyoogam, according to trusted sources. The film, currently dubbed Thalaivar 168, also stars Jyotika and Keerthy Suresh in key roles.
According to a source from the film’s unit, Viyoogam is one of the titles under consideration and it is also the one that was unanimously liked by everyone in the team. An official announcement can be expected soon.
The source added that both Jyotika and Keerthy Suresh have been signed. The makers plan to officially announce the cast and crew details soon.
Reports about Rajinikanth teaming up with Siva first emerged when the latter visited the actor at his residence in May. Siva was invited over to congratulate on the success of Ajith starrer Viswasam which Rajinikanth liked.
“The speculations doing rounds regarding director Siva and Thalaivar meeting this morning are not true. The meeting was only to seek his blessing on the success of the former’s film Viswasam which released early this year,” Rajinikanth’s publicist had tweeted then.
During the course of the meeting, Rajinikanth appreciated Siva for making Viswasam. He particularly liked the father-daughter relationship angle in the film and mentioned it to the director.
Viswasam, which was the third film in the collaboration of Siva and Ajith, was centred on a father who leaves his violent past to make amends with his teenage daughter.
The film, which also starred Nayanthara, emerged as a blockbuster at the box office and grossed over ₹100 crore. It is all set to be remade in Kannada with Shivrajkumar in the lead.
Rajinikanth, meanwhile, awaits the release of his next film Darbar, which has been directed by AR Murugadoss. The film, which also stars Nayanthara, sees the 68-year-old star return to playing a cop after 25 years.
The first-look poster of Darbar was released not long ago. It featured the headshot of a happy Rajinikanth, who is surrounded by all things police. From a rifle to belt and police badge, the poster has already set the expectations rather high.
The film, which will be dubbed and released in Telugu, also stars Suniel Shetty as the prime antagonist. Actor Prateik Babbar, Nayanthara, Nivetha Thomas and Yogi Babu play crucial roles. While Anirudh Ravichander has composed music, Santosh Sivan has cranked the camera.
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