Animated film on Rajni to be released next year

Chennai (PTI): Come next December, superstar Rajnikant, the 'sultan' of the Tamil film industry, will create a history, being the first Indian hero to be featured in an animated film.

The 3D animated 'Sultan-The Warrior' will be an action-gripped adventure movie, featuring Rajnikant as a mythological and larger-than-life hero.

Slated to be released in December 2008, the 90-minute-long movie will be offered as a "gift" to the superstar on his next birthday from none other than his younger daughter Soundarya Rajnikant. The filmstar celebrated his 57th birthday yesterday.

Directed by Soundarya, the film boasts of some of the big names in the industry, including music director A R Rehman, lyricist Vairamuthu and art director Thotta Tharani, besides a Hollywood stunt master.

Rajnikant himself will lend his voice to the animated version.

Produced by Adlabs, a largest entertainment conglomerate, in association with Soundarya's computer graphics company 'Ocher Studios,' the film will be released in Tamil, English, Hindi and Telugu.

While media circles speculate that 'Sultan' could be India's most expensive animated film, Ocher Studios Executive Producer Karthik told PTI that the budget would be double than that of any regular Rajnikant movie.

Being in production for the last six months, the film would be a treat to both children and adults alike, particulary to Rajni fans, with the right mix of comedy, stunt, sentiment, duets and message, besides the superstar's trademark style and punchy dialogues, he added.