Rajinikanth with his daughter Aishwarya Dhanush on the sets of Annaatthe in Hyderabad. (File photo: Sun Pictures/Twitter). Director Siva has resumed the shooting of his forthcoming film Annaatthe, starring Superstar Rajinikanth in the lead. The filming is happening in the outskirts of Chennai. The filmmakers also have plans to shoot in Pollachi.
Sun Pictures, which is bankrolling the pictures, also revealed that Jagapathi Babu is the latest actor to join an already star-studded cast. This film will mark Jagapathi Babu’s third collaboration with Rajinikanth after Kathanayakudu (2008) and Lingaa (2014). He has become the south Indian film industry’s go-to actor to play the roles of a villain with swag. There are no details yet on the character that he will be playing in Annaatthe.
It is also noteworthy that Jagapathi Babu is joining the cast in the last schedule.
— Sun Pictures (@sunpictures) March 16, 2021
The filmmakers had completed about 60 per cent of the shoot when the COVID-induced lockdown brought the production to a grinding halt. The shooting of the remaining portions began in Hyderabad amid strict COVID-19 safety protocols last year. After a couple of weeks of shooting, there was an outbreak of COVID-19 on the sets, triggering concerns about Rajinikanth’s health again. Even as the 70-year-old superstar tested negative for the virus, he was hospitalized due to fluctuations in his blood pressure. Rajinikanth’s health condition upended all his plans, including his long-awaited political debut.
Annaatthe boasts of an all-star supporting cast including Khushbu, Meena, Prakash Raj, Nayanthara, Keerthy Suresh, Sathish and Soori. And the filmmakers have planned to release the film in cinemas on November 4, 2021, coinciding with the Deepavali holidays.