CHENNAI: Superstar Rajinikanth's new film "Annaatthe" will release on Pongal 2021, it has been confirmed.
The film's official announcement came on the verified Twitter handle of the film's producers, Sun Pictures.
Directed by Siva, "Annaatthe" is Rajinikanth's 168th movie. Based in a rural setting, the entertainer also features Rajinikanth's "Annaamalai" (1992) co-star Khushboo, "Muthu" (1995) co-star Meena and "Darbar" (2020) co-star Nayanthara. "Annaatthe" also marks National Award-winning actress Keerthy Suresh's first on-screen appearance with Rajinikanth.
Rajinikanth's first film to release on Pongal "Kuppathu Raja", way back in 1979, This was followed by "Pokkiri Raja" (1982), "Paayum Puli" (1983), "Naan Mahaan Alla" (1984), "Mr. Bharath" (1986), "Panakkaran" (1980), "Dharma Durai" (1991), "Mannan" (1992), "Baashha" (1995) and "Darbar" (2020).
"Annaatthe" was initially supposed to release in mid 2020. However, shooting got stalled owing to the COVID-19 pandemic andf the ensuing lockdown. It is reported that the unit was shooting in Hyderabad till just before the announcement of the lockdown. The team was planning to travel to different parts of India, including Pune and Kolkata. Right now, it is unclear when things will return to normalcy and shooting can resume once again.
Given that the state government has given a nod to allow post production, the team of "Annaatthe" have resumed to work on the portions that have been shot.
The music of the film has been scored by D Imman, while the cinematography is by Vetri.