Suniel Shetty will be seen playing the role of an antagonist in Rajinikanth's next Darbar.
The cop drama will be directed by AR Murugadoss.
"He is playing the role of a villain, very stylised villain. In this action film he will be seen as a businessman," a source close to the actor said.
The actor has earlier played a negative role in Shah Rukh Khan starrer Main Hoon Na (2004).
The 57-year-old actor will begin the shoot for Darbar in July in Mumbai. Rajinikanth, who plays the role of a cop, started shooting for the film in Mumbai in mid-April.
This isn't Shetty's debut in south. He has previously acted in Malayalam movies. He recently wrapped up Priyadarshan's multi-lingual period drama Marakkar: The Lion of Arabian Sea, which also stars Mohanlal.
Shetty will also be seen in a Kannada film Pailwaan alongside Sudeep.
Besides his south commitments, Shetty will be seen reuniting with Akshay Kumar and Paresh Rawal for the third instalment of Hera Pheri.