Shooting starts in Rajinikanth's first period film

After his mega hit Endhiran - The Robot, superstar Rajnikant will now enthrall his die-hard fans with a triple role in his first period film Rana, which went on floors in Chennai today.

The 60-year-old actor will be romancing Bollywood damsel Deepika Padukone in her first venture in the multi-crore Tamil film industry.

Rajinikanth will be joining hands with director KS Ravikumar, a combination often described as "successful and sureshot" in the industry.

They had earlier churned out the megahit film Padayappa besides Muthu, which ran to packed houses in Japan and earned the southern superstar numerous fans in the Asian nation.

This will be the first period film for Rajinikanth and stills showing him as a bearded warrior have already heightened expectations.

Oscar-winning musician AR Rahman will be scoring the music for this big budget venture in which Rajinikanth's daughter, Soundarya, is the technical director.

According to Ravikumar, Rana has a "strong story, a very interesting ensemble cast and promises to have some stunning visual effects which will take Indian cinema to the next level."

Produced by Eros International, Rana is slated for a 2012 release.