Superstar Rajinikanth is all set to return as 'Tiger' Muthuvel Pandian in theatres on October 15 and Thalaiva fans just can't stop the celebrations. The first instalment of the film titled Jailer, directed by Nelson Dilipkumar, released in August 2023 and the sequel, with most of the original team, arrives three years later. Given that Jailer 2 is a continuation of Muthuvel Pandian's story, here are some things you should know before you catch Rajini's swag on the big screen this Thursday.
The trifecta of Rajinikanth, Nelson Dilipkumar and Anirudh Ravichander are key to the success of Jailer and the audience is hoping this success continues with Jailer 2.
But was Jailer 2 always in the plan?
Surprisingly, no!
In a special telecast about the film, Rajinikanth said that he and the director Nelson Dilipkumar were skeptical about making a sequel to this blockbuster. "He (Nelson) said we have already extracted maximum content (Jailer) but after a month, he said, I gave it some thought; let's do it. Nelson had a Telugu commitment, but he postponed it for Jailer 2. He took his time to develop the script as I shot for Vettaiyan, Lal Salaam and Coolie," narrated the Superstar adding that he doesn't prefer sequels and had refused to do Baasha 2 and Petta 2.
What changed for Rajinikanth with Jailer 2 was the fact that when Jailer released on OTT, he revisited it and noted, "Towards the end of the film, when I'm about to kill him, Varman says that he has a huge network who won't spare me. Also, at the end, there are three containers worth ₹1000 crore. I felt it had potential for a sequel then."
What we know is that Nelson has made the narrative much larger and expanded the film's universe with more characters in Jailer 2.
While some characters return to reprise their original roles, others come in to further the story and widen Pandian's circle of enemies.
In Jailer, there was a large ensemble cast which included Ramya Krishnan, Yogi Babu, Tamannaah Bhatia, Vinayakan, Vasanth Ravi, Sunil and others, with important cameos by Malayalam superstar Mohanlal and Kannada superstar Shiva Rajkumar.
Now, the sequel will feature Ramya Krishnan, Mohanlal and Vinayakan but with new additions as well. Hrithik Roshan, Vijay Sethupathi, Vidya Balan, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Mithun Chakraborthy and SJ Suryah will be making an appearance in Jailer 2.
The addition of new stars from Hindi cinema this time around have excited fans as the film has brought together people from across Indian cinema, possibly a first in south cinema.
So, what about the Jailer 2 story? Well, reports state that in the sequel former jailer Muthuvel Pandian will be leading a quiet retired life and is working as a van driver.
After bringing down a criminal gang that was smuggling idols in Jailer, Pandian chooses to distance himself from the world of crime and criminals and lays low. But his peaceful life is disturbed when a bigger criminal, Kalpaks (Mithun Chakraborthy), enters his life and Pandian is forced to unleash the tiger that he is to save and protect his family.
The stakes in Jailer 2 are much higher than in the first film and while Vinayakan was the main antagonist then, the franchise will see more powerful players against Pandian.
Vidya Balan, for instance, plays Kantha in Jailer 2 and not much is known about her role but director Nelson Dilipkumar has now revealed that she plays a 'powerful character who stands up to Rajinikanth.
He said in a recent media interaction that the Kahani actor was scared to play such a strong character and recalled, "When I told her to smoke a cigarette and blow the smoke into Rajinikanth sir's face, her tension doubled."
Thus, it looks like she may be one of the antagonists in the film. Again, with Hrithik Roshan, the director is said to have written a larger-than-life character and a combination scene with Rajinikanth which is apparently one of the highlights of the film. The cast and crew are keeping their lips sealed on the roles of various characters as they want the audience to be pleasantly surprised when they watch the film.
Of course, one of the biggest factors that made Jailer a success was music director Anirudh Ravichander - especially the songs Hukum Thalaivar Alappara and Kaavaala Kaavaala, which saw a glamorous Tamannaah Bhatia increase the temperature on screen.
Kaavaala Kaavaala was a major talking point when Jailer released but Jailer 2 doesn't have a similar song to the disappointment of many fans. Even Rajinikanth felt this was a hard miss stating on television,
"The only missing element in Jailer 2 is Tamannaah. I told Nelson to keep one song for Tamannaah."
The playful banter between them that ensued had Nelson responding to Rajinikanth, "I can't keep it just because you like it, sir" and the Superstar replying, "I didn't say I like it. If I had done whatever I liked, I would have become irrelevant and gone to Bengaluru. I'm still in the field because I'm doing what audiences are loving."
Meanwhile, Hukum captured Rajinikanth's signature style and swagger, while the background score amplified the impact of his on-screen presence and with Jailer 2, Anirudh has pushed this to another level with One Sun One Moon.
The song has helped build on the buzz generated by the original film, with the audience eager to see how Anirudh's music will shape Jailer 2.
Jailer 2 will definitely keep the style of director Nelson Dilipkumar intact - there will be humour, action, style, solid punch dialogues and numerous whistle-worthy elevations for Rajinikanth. And come October 15, the audience will get to enjoy this massive entertainer in theatres.
