Rajinikanth to play a cop after 25 years; new film poster out for megastar's 70th birthday

Chennai, Dec 12 (IANS): The makers of Rajinikanth's upcoming Tamil film Darbar on Thursday released a special poster to mark the superstars 70th birthday.

The poster features Rajinikanth walking majestically with a fiery look on his face.

Darbar, which has been directed by AR Murugadoss, is slated to hit the screens during Pongal in January.

The film marks his return to playing a police officer after 25 years.

Rajinikanth was last seen playing a police officer in the 1992 Tamil film Pandian.

His other police officer role includes Alex Pandian from Moondru Mugam, which released in 1982.

At the audio launch of Darbar last weekend, Rajinikanth opened up on teaming up with Murugadoss for the first time.

"We couldn't think about anyone else but AR Murugadoss to direct the movie. I loved his Ramana and Ghajini. I had wanted to work with him for long. When Kabali and Kaala were being made, he showed interest in a police officer story."

"When Petta came, Murugadoss knew what kind of roles would interest me and he came up with Darbar in a week's time. That's how this project was born. At one level, this movie is a suspense thriller. I am happy to have got to work with a director who blends message with entertainment, like Shankar," he added.

Meanwhile, Rajinikanth's next yet-untitled Tamil film was officially launched on Wednesday here.

The film will be directed by Siva, known for helming projects such as Veeram and Viswasam.

This project will also star Keerthy Suresh, Meena Khushbhu in key roles.

D Imman has been roped in to compose music.