Ever since the title and motion poster of 'Thalaivar' Rajinikanth's upcoming 168th film Annaatthe were announced, social media and a report in an English daily have suggested that the film was originally written with 'Thala' Ajith in mind.
According to fans on Twitter, the Annaatthe script was first offered to Ajith even as he was considering signing Viswasam. Ajith finally chose Viswasam, which incidentally means he is also fully aware of the script of Annaatthe.
"#Annatthe Script Thala ku theriyum. #Viswasam Ajith Sir's choice. Annatthe Thalaivar's choice (Thala knows the script of 'Annatthe'. 'Annatthe' is Rajinikanth's choice, while 'Viswasam' is Ajith's choice)," a tweet said.
In Annaatthe, Rajini teams up for the first time with director Siva who, incidentally, also directed Ajith's 2019 release, Viswasam. On screen, he will be seen with former on-screen co-stars Meena and Kushboo, besides his Darbar' heroine Nayanthara. That apart, Keerthy Suresh will work with Rajinikanth for the first time. A Bollywood biggie is said to be considered for the role of the antagonist.
It is reported that after working with Ajith in Veeram (2014) and Vedalam (2015), Siva narrated the scripts of Annatthe and Vivegam (which released in 2017) to Ajith, and the actor picked the latter. The two eventually also went on to work in Viswasam, which released last year.
Siva eventually narrated the script of Annaatthe to Rajinikanth and he got a big thumbs up from the superstar.
The shoot of the film is currently underway in Hyderabad, and the team plans to shoot in Chennai, Pune and Kolkata as well.
Rajinikanth will don a rustic look in the film that has music composed by D. Imaan.