Rajinikanth’s next film is to be helmed by TJ Gnanavel who directed Jai Bhim (2021). The announcement was made on Sunday, October 1, by Lyca Productions. “Meet the director of #Thalaivar170 Mr TJ Gnanavel #Thalaivar170Team has got grippier with talented  @tjgnan heading the ship!” the production company said on X. The film will have music by Anirudh Ravichander.

Starring Suriya in the lead, Jai Bhim told a story of custodial torture and institutionalised casteism by police against people from the Irular tribe, based on a true incident. Suriya played the role of Justice K Chandru, a retired High Court judge who was an advocate in the Madras HC during the time the film is set. 

Rajinikanth’s collaboration with director Nelson Dileepkumar this year has been a resounding success. Jailer neatly brought together the Superstar’s mass appeal and Nelson's quirky comedy, winning big among the Rajini fandom. Additionally, the film also managed to attract a pan-India audience with stars Mohanlal, Shiva Rajkumar, Jackie Shroff and Sunil making appearances. 

With Rajinikanth joining hands with TJ Gananvel, this will mark the Superstar’s second collaboration with a filmmaker who has made a mark telling anti-caste stories. Rajini was previously seen in director Pa Ranjith’s Kabali (2016) and Kaala (2018), both of which took a strong Ambedkarite stance and were also successful at the box office.