Director Karthik Subbaraj is currently immersed in promoting his ninth feature film, Retro, which is set to hit theatres next week. During a recent promotional interview, he shared an interesting revelation—that the original script for Retro was written with Superstar Rajinikanth in mind.
In an interview with Galatta, Karthik Subbaraj revealed, “This script wasn’t originally written for Suriya. I had actually envisioned it for Thalaivar (Rajinikanth). At first, it featured more action sequences and mass appeal moments. But as the story evolved, I came to realize it was more of a love story than an action-packed film. That shift in tone is what eventually led to Suriya joining the project.”
Karthik further shared that the script was modified to better suit Suriya by adding more emotional depth to his character. “When Suriya sir read the initial draft, he immediately sensed that it was originally written for Rajini sir,” he said. “So, I reworked the lead character to introduce more vulnerability. That said, the role still includes powerful and heroic action moments,” he clarified.
Karthik was also asked about the rumors suggesting he was considered to direct actor Vijay’s final film. Responding to this, he confirmed, “Yes, it’s true that I pitched a script to Vijay sir for his last movie. We’ve had several conversations over the years. After Jigarthanda, he told me he was interested in working with me. Since then, I’ve shared multiple story ideas with him. However, as many people know, I’m not the best at narrating stories, so nothing really took off. By the time I managed to develop a script for his farewell film, he had already chosen to work with H. Vinoth.”
Karthik Subbaraj, a well-known admirer of actor Rajinikanth, had the opportunity to work with the legendary star in 2019 when they teamed up for the film Petta.
Retro, which marks Suriya’s 44th film, features an ensemble cast including Pooja Hegde, Joju George, Jayaram, Karunakaran, Nassar, Prakash Raj, and Sujith Shankar, among others. The film is a joint production by Karthikeyan Santhanam of Stone Bench Creations, along with Jyotika and Suriya under their banner 2D Entertainment.
The technical team behind Retro includes music composer Santhosh Narayanan, cinematographer Shreyaas Krishna, and editor Shafique Mohamed Ali. The film is scheduled for a theatrical release on May 1, where it will be hitting screens alongside Sasikumar’s Tourist Family.
Source: Cinema Express
