Rajinikanth warns, “So far you had only seen the good side of a villager. Now you will see his wrath.” The dialogue is very similar to another Rajinikanth punchline. Remember this: “Ashoka, you know Annaamalai as a friend. From now on, you will know Annaamalai as your enemy.” As usual, Rajinikanth’s character has only two shades: good and bad. There is no grey area.

And director Siva promises to bring back the vintage Rajinikanth teeming with a lot of energy and gifted with an endless stream of forceful punchlines and charismatic slow-motion walk. The teaser doesn’t reveal anything about the film’s plot as it has been cut with the sole purpose of giving the audience a glimpse of Rajinikanth’s undying onscreen magnetism.

Annaatthe will open in cinemas on November 4. The film’s release was earlier postponed multiple times owing to production delays caused by the pandemic. Arguably, shooting for Annaatthe must have been a very taxing experience for Rajinikanth. In a way, the film’s production tested both the physical and emotional limits of the 70-year-old star.

The outbreak of Covid-19 infections on the sets of Annaatthe in December 2020 had stressed out Rajinikanth. While he tested negative for the virus, the stress caused by the incident resulted in fluxations in his blood pressure. Rajinikanth needed a few days of hospitalisation and months of rest to recover from it.

After regaining his health, Rajinikanth returned to the sets of Annaatthe during the first week of April this year. And he shot for the film non-stop for 35 days and completed his portions before the second wave of coronavirus forced the country into another lockdown.

Annaatthe also stars Nayanthara, Keerthy Suresh, Khushboo and Prakash Raj.