'Thalaivar 173': Cibi Chakravarti comes on board to direct Rajinikanth’s next; Pongal 2027 release announced

Superstar Rajinikanth’s upcoming film, backed by Kamala Haasan, tentatively called ‘Thalaivar 173,’ has been in the news regarding who will be the captain of the ship of this big venture. Now the makers officially shared that the project will be directed by filmmaker Cibi Chakravarti.

Cibi Chakravarti was officially announced as director

Taking to their official social handle, the makers shared a post on January 3rd and wrote, “Every HERO has a FAMILY.” The poster shared shows five richly designed scissors making a star. We can also see a needle, threads, and cloth lying down. The poster also revealed Cibi Chakravarti directing the movie and star musician Anirudh Ravichander.

Pongal 2027 release locked

The makers also announced that the movie is set to be released during Pongal 2027. Pongal has always been a special time for big Tamil releases, and ‘Thalaivar 173’ is expected to be no different.


Cibi Chakravarti is known for the film ‘Don,’ which was released in 2022.

Kamal Haasan’s post

Kamal Haasan himself shared the poster and a video montage, which made the announcement of the crew involved in the film. He captioned the post, “Celebrations begin.”

For the unversed, the project had earlier faced delays after its original director, Sundar C, stepped away from the film. It has been suggested that the ‘Aranmanai 4’ director exited due to creative differences with the team. His departure slowed down the progress and left the project in an uncertain state.



The producers are said to be confident about Cibi Chakravarti’s vision. They believe he can handle a film featuring legends like Rajinikanth and also meet the huge expectations that come with it.

On the work front, Rajinikanth was last seen in Lokesh Kanagaraj’s ‘Coolie,’ which was a blockbuster, and he is now shooting the much-anticipated sequel, ‘Jailer 2.’