By:
Raymond
Ronamai
Wednesday,
June
06,
2007
Emperor
Shivaji
won
battles,
superstar
Rajinikanth
wins
hearts.
Yes,
everybody
loves
Rajinikanth,
and
people
fondly
call
him
Rajini.
He
is
like
wine
in
many
ways
-
the
older
he
grows,
the
stronger
he
becomes.
Also,
people
get
drunk
on
seeing
his
splendid
performance
on
the
big
screens.
He
lives
the
idiom
'old
is
gold'.
Still
there
is
not
even
a
single
actor
who
has
the
courage
to
challenge
his
throne.
He
is
no
doubt
the
'king
of
South
Indian
cinema'
and
perhaps
in
the
whole
country.
Now,
he
is
set
to
expand
his
empire
through
Shivaji.
Film
lovers
have
every
reason
to
expect
the
moon
from
Shivaji.
After
all,
big
names
like
superstar
Rajinikanth,
prestigious
production
house
AVM
Productions,
hot
director
Shankar
and
music
maestro
A.R.Rahman
come
together
to
belt
out
this
mammoth
project.
Owing
to
this
incredible
combination,
speculations
were
rife
as
to
who
would
play
Rajini's
heroine.
The
list
of
actresses
considered
for
the
female
lead
role
included
Bollywood
heroines
Aishwarya
Rai
(Aishwarya
Bachchan),
Rani
Mukherjee
and
Ayesha
Takia.
The
pity
is
that
they
could
not
take
it
up
due
to
unavailability
of
dates.
South
Indian
actresses
like
Jyothika,
Trisha,
Nayantara
and
Sneha
were
also
considered
but
Shreya
grabbed
the
coveted
role
at
the
end.
People
never
seem
to
have
enough
of
Rajini
and
his
Shivaji.
The
film
has
been
in
the
news
constantly
ever
since
it
was
announced
a
year
and
a
half
ago.
Rumours
and
speculations
have
become
the
order
of
the
day.
Director
Shankar's
silence
made
the
people
look
every
way
to
have
a
piece
of
the
film.
At
last,
he
has
revealed
that
Shivaji
would
make
everybody
happy.
And
yes,
its
wallpapers
and
trailers
speak
volumes.
Rajini
looks
great
with
peepy
hairstyle
and
so
too
is
his
heroine
Shreya.
The
film
was
initially
scheduled
for
release
on
Tamil
New
Year
Day
on
April
14
but
it
was
postponed
to
May
31.
Now,
the
final
date
for
its
release
is
June
15.
The
makers
of
the
film
are
leaving
no
stone
unturned
to
make
this
film
a
huge
blockbuster
and
hence
the
delay.
The
news
is
doing
the
rounds
that
its
rights
in
various
states
have
been
sold
at
a
whooping
price
and
its
channel
rights
has
been
sold
to
Kalaignar
TV
for
a
huge
sum.
It
is
also
said
that
it
will
be
released
with
record
prints.
Plans
are
on
to
release
it
across
the
world
simultaneously
along
with
the
original
and
Telugu
versions.
With
the
final
countdown
for
its
release
having
begun,
people
are
waiting
with
bated
breath
to
have
a
glimpse
of
their
favourite
star
on
the
big
screens.
The
film
will
surely
make
a
fantastic
opening,
Rajini
has
a
huge
fan
base,
but
the
big
question
that
awaits
an
answer
is
-
will
Shivaji
live
up
to
the
expectations?
Well,
only
time
can
tell
this
and
oneindia.in
is
here
to
let
you
know
its
fate
when
it
hits
the
theatres.
So,
be
with
us
to
know
the
latest
updates.