Bollywood actor Jackie Shroff, who was last seen playing the baddie in Vijay’s Bigil, is most likely to be seen as the antagonist in Rajinikanth’s Annaatthe, as per reports. Jackie made his Tamil debut with Thiagarajan Kumararaja’s critically-acclaimed Aaranya Kaandam. Recently, he was also seen playing a negative role in CV Kumar’s Tamil thriller Maayavan.
If the latest rumours are anything to go by, Jackie will be pitted against Rajinikanth in Siva’s Annaatthe. If Jackie comes on board, it will be his reunion with Rajinikanth after three decades. The two had previously worked together in Hindi film Uttar Dakshin. It’s also worth mentioning that the makers recently confirmed that actor Prakash Raj will also be seen playing a negative role in the movie. The shoot of Annaatthe is expected to resume from October. However, there's no update on whether Rajinikanth will immediately join the sets or wait until early next year.
Annaatthe, which will see Rajinikanth play a caring brother, marks his first-time collaboration with director Siva, best known for helming Veeram and Viswasam. Tipped to be a rural drama, the film also stars Keerthy Suresh, Meena and Khushbhu in key roles. The film was officially launched last December in Chennai in a low-key affair.
On being signed for Rajinikanth’s film, Keerthy said in a tweet: “Extremely happy to announce this magical milestone in my journey. From being awestruck by Rajinikanth to sharing screen space with him will be my most cherished memory in my life. Thank you director Siva and Sun Pictures.”
Rajinikanth was last seen playing an angry cop out to avenge his daughter’s death in Darbar, which was directed by AR Murugadoss. The film featured Nayanthara, Prateik Babbar, Nivetha Thomas and Yogi Babu in crucial roles. While Anirudh Ravichander had composed music, Santosh Sivan cranked the camera.
Darbar was produced by Allirajah Subaskaran under his banner Lyca Productions. Despite grossing over Rs 200 crore worldwide, Darbar turned out to be a damp squib at the box-office. Following the failure of Darbar, it is rumoured that Rajinikanth agreed to reduce his remuneration by half for Annaatthe.
(Content provided by Digital Native)