Rajinikanth to reduce his fee for his next with AR Murugadoss, courtesy the fate of 2.0 at box office?

Basking in the glory of his super-hit film Petta, Superstar Rajinikanth is likely to start shooting for his next yet-to-be-announced project with filmmaker AR Murugadoss towards the end of March. Reliable sources suggest that Rajinikanth has given 90 days call sheet for the project, which will be bankrolled by Lyca Productions. 

The film would mark Rajinikanth's second association with Lyca after the visual effects extravaganza 2.0 directed by Shankar. Although 2.0, which starred Akshay Kumar as the antagonist, raked in the moolah at the worldwide box-office and surpassed various records, the film was not wholly profitable for the producer. We have learned from reliable sources that Rajinikanth has agreed to reduce his salary for the AR Murugadoss project, which is tipped to be a strong political drama with a fantasy subject. 

Murugadoss earlier teamed up with Lyca for their maiden production venture Kaththi starring Vijay in the lead role. The movie stirred up a massive controversy in the state after several Tamil fringe groups staged protests citing Lyca's alleged ties with ex Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. So, the Rajinikanth film would also mark Murugadoss' reunion with Lyca after five years. 

Keerthy Suresh, who was last seen in Murugadoss' blockbuster political drama Sarkar, is the front-runner to bag the lead heroine role opposite Rajinikanth in the film. AR Rahman is also in talks to compose the music for the movie, whose pre-production is already said to be happening at a brisk pace. A few weeks back, Murugadoss denied rumors that the film had been titled Naarkaali (The Chair).