Is Rajinikanth Reinventing His ‘Superstar’ Image?

Is Tamil superstar Rajinikanth’s latest career move a sign that he is trying reinvent himself?

It’s official. Tamil superstar Rajinikanth’s next project will be directed by Pa Ranjith, a relatively new name in the Tamil film industry. Produced by Kalipuli S Thanu, the untitled project will go on floors in Malaysia in August with a 60-day shooting schedule. The film will then be shot for another 60 days in Thailand, Hong Kong and Chennai.

Rajinikanth’s daughter Soundarya Rajnikanth tweeted this picture recently of the star along with Pa Ranjith:

This announcement has laid to rest rumours regarding Rajinikanth doing a possible sequel to the 2010 hit Endhiran (Robot) by teaming up with director Shankar again. Choreographer-turned-director Raghava Lawrence had also reportedly narrated a script to the star, who finally gave a nod to director Ranjith’s project.

Pa Ranjith debuted as a director with Attakathi starring actor Dinesh, made on a shoestring budget of under two crores, which fared well at the box office. His second film was Madras (2014) starring Karthi, which received rave reviews from film critics.

After Lingaa’s miserable performance at the box office, pressure had mounted on the producer of the film and the superstar to settle the losses incurred by Tamil Nadu distributors which ran up to about 64 crores including overseas figures. The superstar clearly seems to have understood the need to reinvent himself after reviews panned him for looking strained while performing his ‘larger than life’ signature moves and stunts on screen. Reports on local film sites also speculated that Rajini might go for an image makeover and finally look his age on screen. Though the film’s makers have not confirmed these reports, choosing a newbie director and a renowned production house does seem indicative of the star’s desire to move away from his comfort zone and choose a more non-formulaic, financially viable project.

The upcoming Rajinikanth project comprises a young crew with Santhosh Narayanan of Jigarthanda fame scoring the music and Praveen KL handling the editing, while G Murali will be the cinematographer. The film is expected to release in early 2016.