Amid multiple speculations, Kamal Haasan's Raaj Kamal Films International has officially confirmed that Don filmmaker Cibi Chakravarthi will helm Rajinikanth's much-anticipated Thalaivar 173 in his sophomore directorial. Anirudh is reuniting with Rajinikanth once again to compose music for the project which will be released for the festive occasion of Pongal next year.
The makers unveiled a poster to make the formal announcement. Featuring black fabric, needles, and a gun in the backdrop, with several scissors placed in the foreground, the visual hints at a narrative that blends action with entertainment. The poster also carries the tagline, "Every hero has a family," teasing a narrative with a strong family drama element, similar to Don.
The much-anticipated movie has been creating buzz ever since Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan confirmed their collaboration at an event last year, but the project landed in its own fair share of controversies after Sundar C, who was earlier part of the film, left the project citing "unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances". Since then, speculations have been rife about multiple directors narrating their stories to the star, including Parking filmmaker Ramkumar Balakrishnan, Dragon director Ashwath Marimuthu, Nithilan Saminathan, SU Arunkumar, and RJ Balaji. However, the announcement of Cibi Chakravarthi directing Thalaivar 173 has come as a surprise for fans.
The filmmaker made his directorial debut with Don in 2022 with Sivakarthikeyan. The comedy drama was a successful venture for Cibi who earned fame through the film. He is set to reunite with the actor for an untitled project, although an official confirmation is awaited.
Anirudh is continuing his successful collaboration with Rajinikanth after previously scoring music for Petta (2019), Darbar (2020), Jailer (2023), Vettaiyan (2024) and Coolie (2025). Besides Thalaivar 173, he also is also the composer for Nelson Dilipkumar's Jailer 2 which is slated for release on June 12 this year.
According to the makers, filming for Thalaivar 173 is set to begin in the next few days, with further details regarding the cast, technical crew, and production schedule to be announced soon. It is also unclear if Kamal and Rajinikanth will share screen space in the upcoming film. They last appeared together in Thillu Mullu (1981) in Tamil and Geraftaar (1985) in Hindi.
The upcoming film will be backed by Kamal Haasan along with R Mahendran under their RKFI banner. It is worth noting that the Pongal 2027 release aligns with the makers' original plan, dating back to when Sundar C was still associated with the project.