Shah Rukh Khan to team up with Tamil director Atlee for upcoming film, won't be remake of Mersal

Bollywood Superstar Shah Rukh Khan flew down to Chennai on Tuesday to meet Tamil director Atlee, who is known for his blockbuster films like Raja Rani, Theri, and Mersal which grossed Rs 50 crores, 150 crores, and 250 crores respectively at the box office.

Reliable sources say that Shah Rukh Khan and Atlee had a detailed discussion and decided to join hands for a film which will soon go on floors. After the script narration, Shah Rukh Khan invited Atlee to come along with him to watch the Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders Match at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai.

Atlee is currently busy shooting for his untitled sports entertainer featuring Tamil Superstar Vijay in the lead and hence, he is expected to begin Shah Rukh Khan’s film only by the end of this year or early 2020.

Shah Rukh Khan. Solaris Image.

Being a long time associate of grandeur filmmaker Shankar of Robot and 2.0 fame, Atlee is currently one of the leading directors in Tamil cinema mainly because of his hat-trick blockbusters in Tamil cinema. The filmmaker was supposed to direct Jr. NTR even before his ongoing film with Vijay but as the Telugu actor got busy with SS Rajamouli’s RRR, Atlee went ahead with his biggie with Vijay and now, Shah Rukh Khan’s addition to his roster is icing on the cake for the director.

There were reports stating Atlee’s film with Shah Rukh Khan is the remake of Mersal but there is no official word on it yet.

While Bollywood expected SRK to begin former Indian Air Force pilot Rakesh Sharma’s biopic and Farhan Akhtar's directorial film Don 3, media reports from the south suggested that the actor will reprise Vijay Sethupathi’s role in Vikram Vedha remake. But the Dilwale actor seems to have found Atlee’s script as his potential comeback at the box office.

Once Atlee completes shooting for Vijay’s film, he is expected to finalise the list of actors, technical crew and other details of the film with SRK.

Atlee-Vijay film is scheduled to hit the screens for Diwali 2019, so if all goes well, the director is expected to begin the pre-production work of SRK’s film in November or December of this year.