The word is finally out as the cast and crew of leading Tamil actor Vijay's next film, the tentatively titled Thalapathy 68, has been revealed. The upcoming film was announced back in May this year, with Venkat Prabhu taking charge as the director and Yuvan Shankar Raja boarding the prestigious project as the music composer. The Thalapathy 68 pooja ceremony was held on October 2, with the cast and crew being kept secret in view of the release of Vijay's Leo, which came out in theatres worldwide last week on October 19. Having said that, the much-awaited Thalapathy 68 pooja ceremony video has now been released on the auspicious occasion of Vijayadashami on Tuesday, October 24, thereby revealing the full cast and crew of the AGS Entertainment production venture.
With the Thalapathy 68 pooja ceremony video now out, there are several interesting highlights fans will get to take away from the film, which is currently in production and is gearing up for a grand 2024 theatrical release. They are as follows:
1) BLOCKBUSTER COMBO
Thalapathy 68 marks the first-time collaboration for both Vijay and Venkat Prabhu, who have earned blockbuster star status over the course of their illustrious careers, having delivered smash box office successes as an actor and a director in their respective projects.
2) MUSICAL CELEBRATION
Among the several big highlights in Thalapathy 68 is the long-awaited reunion of Vijay with celebrated composer Yuvan Shankar Raja. The film will be their second outing together after Pudhiya Geethai (2003) and fans will be looking for an absolute celebration with the duo's coming together once again.
3) HEROES GALORE
Although Vijay will be headlining Thalapathy 68, the film will also see him sharing screen space with actors Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan, Jayaram, Yogi Babu, Ajmal, Vaibhav, and Premgi - all of whom have previously starred in leading roles. It is to be noted that the film's director Venkat Prabhu has also played the role of hero before.
4) SETTING A HEALTHY EXAMPLE
Vijay's Thalapathy 68 has also set an example by normalizing actresses aged 40+ with the casting of Laila and Sneha. This will no doubt earn the Tamil cinema superstar a tremendous outpouring of love from the audiences and also increase his female fan following.
5) AGE IS JUST A NUMBER
The saying ''age is just a number" comes to the fore with the Thalapathy 68 cast announcement as it will see a majority of the male stars in the Venkat Prabhu directorial post their forties - Vijay (49), Prashanth (50), Prabhu Deva (50), Jayaram (57), Mohan (67), Premgi (44), and Vaibhav (45).
6) A COMPLETE REUNION
Thalapathy 68 will be a big reunion for Vijay with several names in the film starting with composer Yuvan Shankar Raja, with whom he collaborated in Pudhiya Geethai (2003).
The actor also shared screen space with director Venkat Prabhu, who played a key role in Sivakasi (2005).
Vijay played the lead role under Prabhu Deva's direction in Pokkiri (2007) and Villu (2009), while also making a special appearance in Rowdy Rathore (2012) in Hindi starring Akshay Kumar in the 'Chinta Ta Ta Chita Chita' song.
The Tamil superstar will also be seen appearing alongside Sneha in Thalapathy 68 after the duo was previously paired in Vaseegara (2003).
Vijay's on-screen rapport with Malayalam actor Jayaram was a major USP in the blockbuster Thuppakki (2012).
The Venkat Prabhu directorial will also be the sixth time that Yogi Babu is cast in a Vijay film after Mersal (2017), Sarkar (2018), Bigil (2019), Beast (2022), and Varisu (2023).
Similarly, Thalapathy 68 is also the second time that Vijay and VTV Ganesh will be seen together in the same frame after Beast (2022).
7) SECOND BLOCKBUSTER LOADING
Thalapathy 68 is the second time Vijay and blockbuster production banner AGS Entertainment are collaborating after the sensational box office success of their action sports drama, Bigil (2019).
8) THIRD MULTI-STARRER
Apart from being in a big film in terms of scale, Thalapathy 68 is also Vijay's third consecutive multi-starrer after Varisu and Leo released this year.
9) LONG-STANDING PARTNERSHIP
One USP in Thalapathy 68 that fans will be counting on will be for the Venkat Prabhu-Yuvan Shankar Raja combo to come out firing on all cylinders once again. Having collaborated in 10 films to date together, the duo have enjoyed a long-standing partnership for nearly two decades in Tamil cinema, and there will be massive expectations with the Vijay-starrer as well.
10) BIRTHDAY TREAT
One couldn't ask for a bigger birthday treat than being cast in a Vijay film and that's exactly what actress Laila got this time with joining Thalapathy 68. The Sardar star was cast opposite Vijay in Unnai Ninaithu (2002), who was the initial choice before he opted out of the film, with the role eventually going to Suriya. Although they both never got to share screen space before, Thalapathy 68 will surely fill in that void, and Laila's casting announcement has now come out on her birthday today, October 24.
🎉 Double Celebrations! 🥳 Birthday girl #Laila rejoins the cast of #Thalapathy68, adding extra sparkle to this already star-studded lineup! 🌟@actorvijay @vp_offl @thisisysr #ThalapathyVijay #Thalapathy68 #HBDLaila #VenkatPrabhu #YuvanShankarRaja #Thalapathy #Vijay #LEO… pic.twitter.com/UyYurqX7jt
— Galatta Media (@galattadotcom) October 24, 2023
11) THE BOYS ARE BACK
Venkat Prabhu is known for his multi-starrers and the filmmaker always makes sure that he gets on board his frequent collaborators in the cast. Likewise, Thalapathy 68 will see a number of known faces starting with Premgi, Vaibhav, Aravind Akash, and Ajay Raaj, who will be joining Vijay this time and fans can expect a fun outing on the big screen once again.
Get ready for a power-packed performance! 🎥The VP Gang joins the incredible cast of #Thalapathy68, promising an unforgettable cinematic experience! 💥🌟@actorvijay @vp_offl @thisisysr @Premgiamaren @actor_vaibhav @aravindaakash @ajayraaj #ThalapathyVijay #Thalapathy68 #Laila… pic.twitter.com/R1PXlFt32i
— Galatta Media (@galattadotcom) October 24, 2023
