Rajnikanth to star in Sivaji: The Boss

Sporting a new, youthful look, Rajnikanth is also set to wow his fans in director Shankar's new film, Sivaji: The Boss.

PRAVEENA SHIVRAM

15 March 2006
CHENNAI, INDIA

Sivaji: The Boss photo gallery

He is said to be one of the highest paid actors. He is said to be the only actor who has had the maximum number of hit films. In fact, people go as far as to say that none of his films have ever seen dark days. His fan base is stupendous, to say the least. And his style is addictive. Yes, we are talking about the invincible Superstar of the South, Rajnikanth, who even at the age of 57, continues to rule the box office.

After the record-breaking success of Chandramukhi, Rajnikanth is in the process of working on his next film. Titled Sivaji – The Boss, the film has already created huge expectations among his fans and filmgoers in the city. What with Shankar (who recently gave a super hit with his film Anniyan) wielding the megaphone, it is enough to set the grapevine rife with speculations.

Known for his socially relevant themes, like his earlier ventures Mudhalavn (remade in Hindi with Anil Kapoor as Nayak), Gentleman and Indian with Kamal Hassan, all dealing with the theme of corruption in the system, and his latest blockbuster, Anniyan, also along the same lines, one wonders if Sivaji too will deal with a similar subject. With claims of portraying the superstar in an altogether new avatar, Shankar is as always, completely tight lipped about this project. This is not surprising, as the pressure on him is mounting. Shankar is known for his meticulous and detailed films (one of the reasons for his success), and with the superstar in the cast, Shankar not only has to make a good film, he also has to appease the actor's imperious fan base.

The director is taking no chances. Four make-up artistes have been hired to recreate the veteran actor's youth. Going by the clandestine still published in a popular Tamil daily in the city, Rajnikanth looks much younger, simulating his look of the eighties. Even before the film hit the floors, people had begun to follow the developments closely. First it was Aishwarya Rai who was touted to be the leading lady opposite the star, then it went on to Rani Mukherji and then to Trisha, until it was finally announced that it was to be Shriya, one of the new entrants into Kollywood. Then came the turn of who will play the villain. First it was Amitabh Bachchan, and then it was Mohanlal, then Nana Patekar and Prakashraj, till finally, it will be essayed by popular Telugu actor, Suman.

Even the title of the film was decided under close scrutiny by the public gaze. The filmmakers had to take permission from the Sivaji Ganesan family, to be able to use is name. Which as, A V Saravanan, the producer for the film rightly pointed out in an event, "For Chandramukhi, Rajni's name was Saravanan and the film was produced by Sivaji films. For my film, Sivaji is his character's name and I, Saravanan, am the producer." Sivaji, also happens to be Rajni's real name. 

With A R Rahman doing the music, and award-winning lyricist Vairamuthu penning the words, the songs for this film are expected to be chart toppers, as is with all Rajnikanth films. And going by Shankar's penchant for elaborate and opulent song sequences, along with Prabhu Deva and Raju Sundaram as dance masters, at least one can be sure that the picturisation of the songs will be exquisite. The cinematographer for the film is national award winner K V Anand, who has worked with Shankar in earlier films as well. Produced by AVM, one of the oldest and biggest production houses in the industry, art direction by national award winner Thota Tharani (who also did the art direction for Chandramukhi), costume design by Manish Malhotra, and Antony as editor, the cast and crew names are enough to make this the much-awaited movie of the year.

As to its release date, rumour mills are working full time, as some say it is a Diwali release and some say it will release next month.