Days after his recent success Jailer crossed the Rs 500-crore mark, Rajinikanth has made another big announcement. The superstar will be now seen in Thalaivar 171 – the tentative title for his upcoming film. The project will be directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, whose last film featured Kamal Haasan and next stars Thalapathy Vijay. Given that two of Lokesh’s previous films – Vikram and Kaithi – were part of a shared cinematic universe, fans are wondering if the Rajni-starrer is also part of it.
On Monday, production house Sun Pictures shared the creative announcing Thalaivar 171 on social media. The poster read Thalaivar 171 in bold along with the basic crew details, including the names of director Lokesh Kanagaraj, composer Anirudh Ravichander, action director Anbariv, and producer Kalanithi Maran. “We are happy to announce Superstar @rajinikanth’s #Thalaivar171, written & directed by @lokesh.kanagaraj, an @anirudhofficial musical, action by @anbariv_action_director,” read the caption.
Fans have reacted with excitement to the film, predicting that it will be ‘India’s biggest film’. One comment read, “Ladies and gentlemen, here comes the first 1000CR+ grosser from Kollywood.” Another fan wrote, “This will be huge.”
Lokesh Kanagaraj directed Kamal Haasan, Vijay Sethupathi, and Fahadh Faasil in last year’s hit Vikram, which was linked to his previous film Kaithi, thereby establishing a shared universe that people have dubbed Lokesh Cinematic Universe (LCU). There have been rumours that Lokesh’s upcoming film – Leo, starring Vijay – is also part of the universe. Naturally, speculations began about Thalaivar 171 too. “Turn on your phone, it seems like LCU,” wrote one fan. Another asked, “Is this LCU?” Many wondered if Lokesh will be able to bring together Rajni and Kamal on screen after years.
Rajinikanth’s Jailer, which released in theatres last month, has been a resounding success, minting close to Rs 600 crore worldwide and is still going strong. The film is now the second-highest-grossing Tamil film of all time, behind Rajni’s own 2.0.
