When a cinematic titan of Rajinikanth’s stature steps onto a film set, one expects a swarm of personal assistants. But according to Jailer 2 director Nelson, working with the superstar defies every standard convention of modern celebrity culture.
Speaking at a recent promotional event for the highly anticipated action sequel, Nelson shared a revealing look behind the scenes, highlighting the actor’s absolute lack of pretension and his minimalist approach to stardom.
“Of all the people I have worked with, you are the person who arrives on sets with the least number of staff,” Nelson remarked, pointing out the warm, informal camaraderie Rajinikanth shares with his team. "They tease him at least five times a day, and he mostly spends quality time with them. Out of all the stars I’ve worked with, Rajini sir has the least amount of people as his staff. His team comprises three people... and one of them is him."
Nelson also recalled how the superstar’s low-profile entry often catches the crew off guard. While teams are usually left waiting anxiously for a star to make a grand entrance, Rajinikanth’s arrival is entirely unannounced.
"There’s absolutely zero fanfare or hype when he comes to set. Everyone is usually waiting anxiously for the star to arrive on set in a grand way. But with Rajinikanth sir, we’d suddenly look back and find him silently doing something.. he’d have arrived ages ago and we wouldn’t even have known!"
Jailer, Rajinikanth's first collaboration with Nelson, was released in August 2023. It follows the life of a retired jailer, Muthuvel Pandian, who tries to find his missing son and ends up crossing paths with an eccentric idol smuggler, Varman. Both Jailer, and its sequel, are produced by Kalanithi Maran, and are composed by Anirudh Ravichander.
Jailer 2 has been in production for over a year and its release—on October 15—coincides with the Dussehra holidays, a strategic move intended to give the sequel a grand opening across both domestic and international markets.