When Karthik Subbaraj Revealed Rajinikanth Was The First Choice For Jigarthanda DoubleX And Mahaan

Director Karthik Subbaraj is gearing up for his upcoming thriller, featuring celebrated actor Suriya. Reportedly, he has wrapped the shoot and begun with post-production. Amid this, the Tamil filmmaker recently revealed some surprising details about the casting of his successful films, Jigarthanda DoubleX and Mahaan. Although both Raghava Lawrence and Chiyaan Vikram delivered outstanding performances in their respective flicks, Subbaraj shared that he had initially pitched the stories to superstar Rajinikanth. However, he mentioned that both films were still in their early stages and the script was ‘basic’ when he offered it to Rajnikanth.

During an interview with SS Music, the director said, “I had initially pitched the idea of Jigarthanda DoubleX after Petta, but it was at a very basic level. After watching the movie he asked me why I didn’t tell the story to him and I said I already narrated it to him but it didn’t evolve to such a level back then.”

The filmmaker added that he also shared the story of Chiyaan Vikram’s Mahaan with Rajinikanth. Speaking with the host, Karthik Subbaraj mentioned that whenever he has a new idea, he likes to share it with the Kabali star right away. However, he realised that he should be better prepared with a fully developed script before discussing it with him in the future.

In the same interview, the filmmaker also clarified that his next flick with Suriya is not a gangster movie but a love story.

For those not aware, Mahaan released in 2022 was a story about a school teacher who became a liquor mafia after a series of sudden events. The film featured a talented cast, including Dhruv Vikram, Simran, Bobby Simha, Sananth, Vettai Muthukumar and Deepak Paramesh in key roles. Meanwhile, 2023’s Jigarthanda DoubleX was a prequel to the 2014 film Jigarthanda, starring Raghava Lawrence and SJ Suryah. The plot revolves around a policeman who gets trapped for a crime. He could only escape the local gangster by pretending to be a film director.

Although Karthik Subbaraj did not cast Rajinikanth in Jigarthanda DoubleX and Mahaan, he had the opportunity to work with the superstar in Petta, also featuring Vijay Sethupathi, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Trisha Krishnan.