On Wednesday, as Rajinikanth celebrated his 68th birthday, his die-hard fans were in for a treat. The teaser of his upcoming film, Petta, was released. The teaser, with drum beats playing out in the backdrop as an exuberant Rajinikanth appears on screen, is a nostalgia ride for Thalaivaa fans.
Reminiscent of the onscreen Rajinikanth of the 1990s, Petta teaser shows him in two avatars—sporting a beard in one and a handlebar moustache in another. The one-minute-30-seconds peppy teaser begins with Rajni walking down a dark alley. At the other end of the dark pathway, a group of people seem to be fighting with lights. In sharp contrast, the scene then cuts to show a smiling Rajinikanth balancing a plate of food in his hands. As the tempo of the background score builds, a beaming Rajinikanth, clad in an off-white dhoti and shirt, is seen walking as he watches people eat. The teaser also drops in quick glimpses of some of Rajinikanth's trademark moves—the slow-motion walk, laughter and him flipping his sunglasses.
Opening with the evergreen Rajinikanth theme song, once introduced by musician Deva, the teaser slowly moves to the song 'marana mass' from Petta. Anirudh Ravichander has struck the right chords with the music tailored for Rajni fans. Directed by Karthik Subbaraj, the movie also stars Vijay Sethupathi, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bobby Simha, Simran, Malavika Mohanan and Trisha.
Petta seems to be very different from the Rajinikanth's outings this year, be it the political thriller, Kaala, or the sci-fi 2.0. During the audio launch of the film, Rajnikanth said Petta would be a throwback to the kind of films he did in the 1990s. “Karthik has a very different style of storytelling. He directed this film like a true Rajni fan. Petta is an entertaining throwback to the kind of films I did in 1990s. Karthik has extracted the kind of work I used to perform three to four decades ago,” he said.
Produced by Kalanithi Maran’s Sun Pictures, Petta is slated for Pongal release in January 2019.
