Vijay to lock horns with Sanjay Dutt in Lokesh's next?
Tamil star Vijay is collaborating again with acclaimed filmmaker Lokesh Kanagaraj for a project that is yet to be titled. Now, reports have come up stating that the film will have Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt playing the main antagonist. Tentatively titled Thalapathy 67, it was also reported earlier that the character of Vijay will have shades of Rajinikanth from his yesteryear film Baasha.
Why does this story matter?
Kanagaraj, who has only helmed four films so far, has a cult-like fan following in Tamil Nadu. His previous film Vikram with Kamal Haasan was a blockbuster, which fetched around Rs. 400cr at the box office. The filmmaker's previous project with Vijay, Master was a megahit venture, too. And the onboarding of Dutt in this upcoming venture has come as an unexpected surprise.
Reports have come out about Dutt's remuneration too
It was also reported that the KGF: Chapter 2 villain is being paid a whopping remuneration of Rs. 10cr for his role. Pinkvilla quoted a source as saying, "Lokesh has been in conversation with Sanjay Dutt for a while now and things have finally fallen in place." One can expect the makers to announce the same once everything is official.
Film to have multiple powerful antagonists
Additionally, the film will have multiple powerful villains apart from Dutt. His presence will add a pan-Indian appeal to the project. "Kanagaraj is slowly getting fame in the Northern belt after the release of Vikram and he is planning to take things a notch higher with Vijay's next," the source added, saying that Thalapathy 67 will be Vijay's biggest release in the Hindi belt.
Will Prithviraj Sukumaran play a negative role as well?
Apparently, the Kaithi director also has plans to bring Malayalam star Prithviraj Sukumaran on board to play another negative role in the gangster drama. But the talks are yet to be initiated with the star. Meanwhile, Vijay will be next seen in the Tamil-Telugu bilingual drama Vaarisu/Vaarisudu with Rashmika Mandanna. Vamshi Paidipally has helmed the project. It will be released in January 2023.
