If the industry grapevine is anything to go by, double Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman might join hands with Vijay again after Mersal for his next yet-untitled outing with AR Murugadoss. Dubbed as Thalapathy 62, the project is slated to take off early next year and will mark the third collaboration of Vijay and Murugadoss after the blockbusters Thuppakki and Kaththi. While Rahman hasn’t officially signed on the dotted line yet, talks have already been initiated with the composer who is busy with multiple projects.
“It’s true Rahman has been approached for the project. However, he hasn’t had a sit-down with Murugadoss yet. Since the project is being planned to be completed in six months flat, Murugadoss wants Rahman to deliver his work within that time period. A final call will be taken after the two meet and discuss a few things. As of now, it looks like Rahman is most likely to come on board and an official announcement will be made soon,” a source said.
Anirudh Ravichander and GV Prakash Kumar, both known for their successful collaboration with Vijay in films such as Kaththi and Theri respectively, were initially considered as composers for the project. The project was supposed to happen even before Theri, but for reasons unknown it was delayed and is finally taking shape.
During the release of Akira, his last Hindi outing, Murugadoss had confirmed that a project with Vijay is on the cards. In 2013, he had also tweeted that he will be reuniting with Vijay and he is thrilled about it. It’s tipped to be another action entertainer from Murugadoss, who is under tremendous pressure to deliver following the debacle of SPYder, his bilingual film with Mahesh Babu.
All eyes are on this project as the combination of Vijay and Murugadoss has set the bar very high. Two of Vijay's best films in recent years have come from Murugadoss and it naturally has built high anticipation around their next project. It is believed that the project is being planned as a Diwali 2018 release. It might even come earlier if completed on time. Otherwise, the makers will look for a very good festival release date. Sun Pictures, best known for producing Rajinikanth’s Enthiran, will bankroll the project on a lavish budget. The film will have a simultaneous dubbed Telugu release following the good response to the Telugu version of Mersal.