Rajinikanth reveals why he agreed to ‘Jailer 2’

CHENNAI: Rajinikanth has revealed that he turned down sequel proposals for Baashha and Petta before agreeing to reprise his role as Tiger Muthuvel Pandian in Jailer 2. Speaking at the film’s pre-release event, Jailer 2 Super Show, streamed on Sun NXT, the actor said he was generally reluctant to do sequels.

“I’m generally not keen on sequels because I feel they take the first part, add a little extra flavour, and turn it into another film,” he said.
The actor said Sathya Movies had approached him several times with a proposal for Baashha 2, based on an idea by late producer RM Veerappan. Rajinikanth also declined director Karthik Subbaraj’s idea for Petta 2, which would have continued Vijay Sethupathi’s character.
What changed his mind was a potential storyline he noticed while rewatching Jailer after its OTT release. He pointed to the scene in which Varma warns Tiger that a larger network stands behind him, as well as the three containers carrying goods. “I felt there was a perfect story for a sequel,” he said.

Nelson Dilipkumar was initially hesitant, believing they had already explored the first film’s possibilities. However, after a month of thought, the director returned with a more developed idea. Jailer 2 reunites Rajinikanth with Nelson and composer Anirudh Ravichander. 

The cast includes newcomers such as SJ Suryah, Mithun Chakraborty, Vidya Balan, Suraj Venjaramoodu and Jatin Sarna, alongside returning actors Ramya Krishnan, Yogi Babu and Mirnaa. The film is scheduled to release in theatres on October 15.