Thalaivar 173: After the moderate box office success of Coolie, Rajinikanth is focused on Jailer 2, directed by Nelson Dilipkumar. Jailer was a huge success in 2023 and expectations are similar from the upcoming sequel. Meanwhile, the Tamil star's 173rd film was also announced a few weeks back. Tentatively titled Thalaivar 173, the movie is produced by Kamal Haasan's Raaj Kamal Films International and marks a highly anticipated collaboration between the two Kollywood heavyweights. However, Haasan has only stepped in as the producer of the movie so far and it is unconfirmed if he is involved with the project as an actor or not.

Further anticipation for the project rose with the news of Sundar C being roped in as the director. However, a few days after his name was officially attached to Thalaivar 173, Sundar stepped down as the director. He also put out a press release formally announcing his exit.

While there is no clear reason for this decision on Sundar C's behalf, reports have hinted that he backed out because there was no proper story. Furthermore, it is also being claimed that Sundar C didn’t communicate his decision to Rajini and Haasan before sharing it with the public.

Now, Sundar C’s wife and actress Khushbu Sundar has rubbished rumours related to her husband's exit from Thalaivar 173. She said that she’s surprised at how people believe something based purely on hearsay.

It is said that Haasan has signed a two-film contract with Rajinikanth, covering both Thalaivar 173 and Thalaivar 174. Rajinikanth's daughter is also expected to join the project as a co-producer for Thalaivar 174. According to media reports, Rajini's remuneration for these projects will set an unprecedented benchmark in the film industry.