After much speculation on who would star in his next project, sci-fi feature Robot, Indian director Shankar has confirmed that he is reuniting with the Tamil-language film industry's biggest star, Rajnikanth.

Rajnikanth starred in Shankar's Sivaji - The Boss which grossed an estimated $38m-$43m last year from domestic and overseas markets. Music composer A R Rahman, who worked with Shankar on Sivaji will also work on his new film.

In addition, leading integrated Tamil media and entertainment company Ayngaran International, recently acquired by Eros International, has announced that it is backing the production. Eros and Ayngaran together distributed Sivaji globally.

The special effects-driven Robot will use state-of-the-art technology and is likely to cost around $25m (Rs1bn). It will be produced in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and other regional Indian languages.

Speaking on the project, Shankar said: 'It's very exciting to be working with talents like Rajnikanth and Rahman. Combined with the production and distribution muscle of Ayngaran-Eros International, Robot has the potential of becoming this year's biggest film.'

Ayngaran CEO K KarunaMoorthy added: 'Aligning with Eros International's consolidation strategy, we are leveraging our position to integrate the Tamil film industry by producing and releasing films on a global platform.'

Other actors rumoured to be playing the lead in Robot were Kamal Hassan, Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, but finally it was Rajnikanth who was signed on.

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