4 min readMumbaiOct 14, 2026 09:30 PM IST
It’s for the first time in their careers that projects made by the father-daughter duo of Rajinikanth and Soundarya Rajinikanth have released in the same month. While she served as the showrunner of Balaji Mohan’s romantic show #Lovel, which dropped on Netflix India on October 1, his action thriller, Nelson Dilipkumar’s Jailer 2, which releases in cinemas on October 15. The only other time their careers overlapped was with Soundarya’s 2014 directorial debut, animated period action film Kochadaiiyaan, starring Rajinikanth.
Soundarya Rajinikanth on Jailer 2
“Every film of my father is very special because before his daughter, I’m a complete fan first,” Soundarya tells SCREEN in an exclusive interview. “I’m a hardcore Thalaiva fan. I’m waiting for every film of his. I’ll celebrate every film of his,” she adds. She’s the most excited about Jailer 2 not only because it’s her father’s latest release, but also a rare sequel in his 50-year-plus filmography.
“Jailer was a huge success for us,” says Soundarya, referring to the 2023 blockbuster which amassed around Rs 650 crore at the worldwide box office. “I’m waiting to see that character again because my father usually doesn’t do sequels. If at all there was a sequel before this, it was 2.0 of Enthiran. As a fan, I can’t wait to watch that iconic jailer, Muthuvel Pandian, in a theatre,” she adds. S Shankar’s 2018 sci-fi action epic 2.0 was a sequel to his 2010 blockbuster Enthiran, in which Rajinikanth reprised his dual role of scientist Dr. Vaseegaran and robot Chitti.
The release of Jailer 2 comes a couple of weeks after Soundarya shared a picture of her showing #Love, starring Aishwarya Lekshmi and Arjun Das, to her father. While she claims he’s well-versed with social media — a key theme of the show — he wouldn’t want to trade his early life with one with social media at its heart. “Somebody asked me if I wanted to be a Gen-Z instead of a millennial, I’d say no. Similarly, if you ask my father if he’s rather be in this generation than the generation he was in, he’d say no,” says Soundarya, laughing.
But that doesn’t imply Rajinikanth isn’t up to speed with all the memes, edits, and fan theories about him online. “He’s someone who evolves, accepts, and understands what the current ask is. He’s aware of social media and the importance people give to it. He follows the traction of what social media can do to films because it has a lot of influence in our industry today. He’s aware of what’s going on, but would he rather have it in his early stage of career? I don’t think so,” reiterates Soundarya.
Soundarya on Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan reunion
Soundarya is also looking forward to her father’s reunion with Kamal Haasan 40 years after Prayag Raaj’s 1985 Bollywood action film Geraftaar. They’re all set to team up for a film helmed by Jailer director Nelson Dilipkumar. Has Soundarya also been a Kamal Haasan fan? “I want to say this in a very healthy way — I’m a Rajini fan,” she says, laughing.
“But Kamal uncle and Appa have had such an amazing friendship all through their careers. Kamal Haasan was already an established actor when my father entered the industry as a junior artist, and then as a villain. I think the respect they have for each other comes down to their families. Shruti (Haasan, Kamal’s daughter) and I have a lot of regard and respect for each other. I think that’s very healthy, but yes, I’m a Rajini fan,” adds the filmmaker.
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Also Read — Jailer 2 box office day 1: Rajinikanth film sells 15 lakh tickets, eyes Rs 100 cr worldwide
Soundarya also has the best chances at pulling off another casting coup — Rajinikanth and Dhanush. Having directed the latter in her 2017 action comedy VIP 2, she seems to be in the best position to bring together her father and her ex brother-in-law, who was married to her sister Aishwarya Rajinikanth. “It’s what the script demands. I think each person has their own respective audience and the films they choose to do. But if a script like that happens, never say never,” she says.
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