'Jailer 3'?: Who's The Dark Horse Roped In To Direct Rajinikanth And Kamal Haasan

2026-02-04 02:49:53

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Two of Tamil cinema's biggest stars, Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, are set to appear together on screen for the first time in nearly 46 years, and the movie will be directed by someone who has delivered a blockbuster with the former.

Nelson Dilipkumar, known for his action flicks with a blend of dark humour and sarcasm, will be helming this project, India Today reported citing people privy to the project. The announcement is expected to be made in the form of a promo video.

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The movie is expected to be a light-hearted one, in line with Nelson's brand of film-making, according to the outlet, as both the actors were keen on it. Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan appeared together in landmark films in the '70s such as Apoorva Ragangal, Moondru Mudichu, and Pathinaru Vayathinile.

A long-winding road

The project involving the two cinema icons, however, was hanging fire for a while. Early last year, it was widely speculated that Lokesh Kanagaraj, Tamil cinema's new-gen filmmaker behind hits such as Kaithi, Master, Vikram, Leo and Coolie, would helm it. He was one of the few filmmakers to have directed the two actors in separate movies, too.

Kanagaraj had narrated a story to both the actors prior to the release of Coolie, and both were said to be happy with it. He, however, backed out of the project later.

Actor-lawmaker Haasan then turned busy with producing a movie for Rajinikanth, his friend since their early days in the film industry. Sundar C, known for his laugh-out-loud entertainers and horror comedies over the decades, was brought on, but he stepped away. On January 2, confirmation emerged that Cibi Chakravarti, a relative newbie, will be the director of the movie, tentatively titled #Thalaivar 173.

Who is Nelson Dilipkumar?

Nelson, however, is no stranger to directing screen legends.

In 2018, he debuted with Kolamavu Kokila, a dark comedy crime film starring Nayanthara, in which a woman takes to smuggling contraband-and finishing off rivals-to save her ailing mother. The rather unconventional plot, wry humour and performances by its cast won rave reviews and made everyone take note. Kolamavu Kokila was remade in Hindi as Good Luck Jerry, with Jahnvi Kapoor in the lead.

A year later, Nelson followed that up with Doctor, starring his long-time associate Sivakarthikeyan and an equally unconventional plot. The movie avoided the cliches of commercial cinema and turned out to be a hit.

In 2022, he moved to the big leagues with Beast, starring Thalapathy Vijay and Pooja Hegde, which was panned by critics but was successful at the box office.

He then directed superstar Rajinikanth in Jailer (2023), the action comedy that follows the travails of a retired police official in search of his missing son, also an upright police officer, that won rave reviews. The movie minted nearly Rs 6.5 billion (Dh 250 million approximately) globally and was one of the year's biggest Indian grossers.

Meanwhile, Nelson is busy with Jailer 2, the sequel to Jailer. The movie comprises a galaxy of stars, including Mohanlal, Shiva Rajkumar, Ramya Krishnan, Anna Reshma Rajan, Suraj Venjaramoodu, and, potentially, the Bollywood actors Mithun Chakraborty and Vidya Balan in pivotal roles.