Thalaivar170: ​Superstar Rajinikanth's next to be directed by Jai Bhim director TJ Gnanavel

​It's official! After much speculation, it is confirmed that Jai Bhim director TJ Gnanavel will indeed direct Superstar Rajinikanth's next, which is tentatively being referred to as Thalaivar170. The film will be bankrolled by Subaskaran's Lyca Productions and will hit screens in 2024. The announcement was made by Lyca Productions on the occasion of the birthday of its chairman Subaskaran. The shoot is expected to begin soon under the leadership of GKM Tamilkumaran. Music for the film will be by Anirudh Ravichander.

Taking to its social media handle, Lyca Productions wrote, "We are feeling honoured to announce our next association with “Superstar” @rajinikanthfor #Thalaivar170 Directed by critically acclaimed @tjgnan Music by the sensational “Rockstar” @anirudhofficial @gkmtamilkumaran @LycaProductions #Subaskaran (sic)." The production house further wrote, "We are further happy to inform you that the shoot of the film will commence soon under the leadership of GKM Tamilkumaran and will be ready for release by 2024.

It was not long ago that there was a buzz that TJ Gnanavel had narrated a story to the Superstar and that he had liked the same. Rajinikanth has also made a two-film commitment to Lyca Productions after Jailer. 

In the meantime, the shoot for Rajinikanth's upcoming film Jailer is going in full swing. Jailer will feature Superstar Rajinikanth as jailer Muthuvel Pandian. The film has an ensemble cast with some of the biggest names of film industries being roped in including, Kannada Superstar Shiva Rajkumar, Malayalam Superstar Mohanlal, Telugu star Sunil and Bollywood star Jackie Shroff with whom Rajinikanth had worked together 35 years ago in Uttar Dakshin. The rest of the star cast includes Tamanaah, Ramya Krishnan, Yogi Babu, Vinayakan, Vasanth Ravi to name a few.

Jailer has music by Anirudh Ravichander. While the cinematography is by Vijay Kartik Kannan, editing is by R Nirmal. The film is bankrolled by Sun Pictures.