There is no doubt that director Karthik Subbaraj is one of the most sought-after filmmakers in Tamil cinema. Considered one of the pioneers of new-age cinema in Tamil, Karthik has worked with the likes of Rajinikanth, Vikram, Dhanush, Vijay Sethupathi, SJ Suryah, and now, Suriya. The National Award-winning actor is collaborating with Karthik for the first time in the film, Retro. However, there have been multiple reports about Karthik reuniting with Rajinikanth for a project, and another film with Vijay that didn’t reach fruition.
In an interview with Galatta Plus ahead of the release of Retro, Karthik dropped a bombshell by revealing who the film was originally pitched to. “I wrote it for Thalaivar (Rajinikanth),” said Karthik, also putting end to speculations that it was a project that was meant to star actor-politician Vijay. “Since it was written with him (Rajinikanth) in mind, the initial script was filled with a lot of action and mass elements. However, working on it further, I realised there was a strong love story there.”
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After the script became a love story at its core, Karthik Subbaraj decided to approach Suriya for the film, and once he gave the go-ahead, certain changes were made to the protagonist’s characterisation. “When Suriya sir read the first draft, he immediately asked me if I’d written it for Rajini sir. Later, we made the protagonist even more vulnerable. However, let me assure you that it doesn’t mean the character will not have mass moments or heroism-filled action sequences,” said Karthik.
Incidentally, Karthik was in the running to helm Vijay’s final film before he takes the political plunge. Now, the superstar’s swansong, titled Jananayagan, is helmed by H Vinoth. Not wanting to beat around the bush, Karthik said, “I did narrate a script to Vijay sir for his last film. In fact, this isn’t the first time we have discussed a potential collaboration.” Reminiscing the first time they were supposed to collaborate, Karthik said, “Even after Jigarthanda, he reached out to collaborate on a film, but somehow, despite narrating many stories, things didn’t materialise.”
Terming his narration skills as ‘not great’, Karthik said, “As many know, I am not a great narrator, and so, things never materialised. By the time I could put together a script for his last film, he decided to collaborate with H Vinoth.”
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Nevertheless, Jananayagan is set to hit the screens for Pongal 2026. On the other hand, Retro is set to hit the screens on May 1, and will have a clash at the Tamil Nadu box office with Sasikumar-Simran’s Tourist Family. The film also has to compete with Nani’s much-awaited HIT: The Third Case, which is also hitting screens worldwide on May 1.
Backed by Stone Bench Creations and 2D Entertainment, Retro also stars Pooja Hegde, Joju George, Jayaram, and Prakash Raj, and marks the maiden collaboration between Suriya and composer Santhosh Narayanan.
