Rajini's 'Annaatthe' was originally written for Ajith, claim fans

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". Alith 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 willbe 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.