Superstar Rajinikanth's recent movie 'Annaathe' directed by Siruthai Siva and produced by Sun Pictures got mixed to negative reviews from critics. But in spite of that the film that also starred Keerthy Suresh and Nayanthara is said to have made record collections at the box office.

It has already been announced that Rajini's next 'Thalaivar 169' will be directed by Nelson and produced by Sun Pictures with Anirudh scoring the music. The preproduction work is underway and the film will go on floors in August this year eyeing a Pongal 2023 release.

Meanwhile there is a strong buzz in Kollywood that Rajini has decided to reunite with veteran commercial director K.S. Ravikumar and story discussions have already begun. The sources say Rajini also participates in the story development and is excited by the way it is shaping up.

The same source adds that 'Thalaivar 170' will be a spiritual successor to the Rajini-KSR combo's monster hit movie 'Padaiyappa' and may carry the title 'Padaiyappa 2'. It is even said that Ramya Krishnan who played the villainous Neelambari in the original is on board. We have to wait for the official confirmation on this one which will take a few months from now considering that it will go on floors only in early 2023.