Dragon director Ashwath Marimuthu confirmed that he was in talks with Rajinikanth for Thalaivar173 before Sibi Chakraborty.

Dragon fame Ashwath Marimuthu is currently involved in the pre-production work of his next film, tentatively titled STR51, starring Silambarasan TR in the lead role. However, the director has now revealed that he was initially the first choice for Rajinikanth’s Thalaivar173 ahead of director Siby Chakraborty.

Ashwath Marimuthu once revealed his liking for Rajinikanth’s Thalaivar173

As per Movies Singapore online report, Ashwath Marimuthu revealed in an interview that he was Rajinikanth’s first choice for Thalaivar173.

The Dragon director said, “When I was writing STR51, at one point it was stuck in a deadlock, so I worked on a different script. During the initial meetings, I discussed an idea with him (Rajinikanth), and he liked it. Then I developed it into a complete script and narrated it to him for an hour and forty minutes. During the interval block he was completely engaged with the story; while listening he even forgot to have lunch at his age. He said That the villain character was brilliantly fleshed out and even discussed. Appropriate casting for it.

“The film was almost finalized, but due to some circumstances it could not happen. Then Rajinikanth sir said that he will do Sibi Chakraborty’s film, but this project should definitely be made in the future. He also mentioned that only he or Kamal Haasan sir can complete that character. Even the production company liked the story. I hope I will definitely make that film,” said the filmmaker.

Ashwath also revealed that he has a script specially prepared for Thalapathy Vijay. The director told that he has written a big story for Vijay. He recalled that when he and Pradeep met actor Vijay after the release of Dragon, the Beast actor told producer Archana Kalpathy that he was the right person for her and that she should have brought the director to her to work on a project.

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More about Thalaivar173

Rajinikanth will next be working with director Sibi Chakraborty on the tentatively titled film ‘Thalaivar 173’. The film is expected to go on floors in April 2026, with actors like Basil Joseph and Priyanka Mohan rumored to play important roles.