Prithviraj turns distributor, acquires Kerala rights of Rajinikanth's 'Petta'

Malayalam actor Prithviraj's Prithviraj Productions has acquired the Kerala rights of Rajinikanth's upcoming Pongal release, Petta. The actor's home banner has jointly acquired the rights with Listin Stephen's Magic Frames. The film, which releases on January 10, will be open in more than 200 screens across Kerala.

In July 2017, Prithviraj had announced his decision to part ways with August Cinemas, the production venture in partnership with Santhosh Sivan and Shaji Nadesan. Last year, he launched Prithviraj Productions along with his wife Supriya. Petta is his first project for distribution, and considering the massive fan following for Rajinikanth in Kerala, the choice seems to be a smart one.

The highly-anticipated Karthik Subbaraj film, starring Rajinikanth, is expected to rekindle nostalgia in hardcore Thalaiva fans as they get to catch a glimpse of the Rajinikanth of the 90s. The Petta teaser was released on December 12 to coincide with the superstar's 68^th birthday. The Pongal release clashes with yet another highly awaited film—Ajith's Viswasam. Petta also features a stellar star cast including Vijay Sethupathi, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bobby Simha, Simran, Malavika Mohanan and Trisha.

Petta seems to be very different from the Rajinikanth's outings of 2018, 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.