‘En Vazhi Thani Vazhi’: Rajini’s ‘Dharman’ enters second gear, and the Superstar is ready to rewrite the rules

• ‘The deadly doctor’ returns to the sets as Ashwath Marimuthu’s action entertainer begins its second schedule
• Kamal Haasan’s Raaj Kamal Films International drops electrifying BTS glimpse, teasing a fresh Rajinikanth avatar
• ‘Dharmame vellum!’: Superstar’s doctor-with-a-dark-side persona fuels massive fan expectations
• Anirudh, Niketh Bommi, Pradeep E Raghav and stunt duo Anbariv power the highly anticipated Rajini-Kamal cinematic spectacle
• From first-look swagger to second-schedule momentum, ‘Dharman’ is shaping up as a high-voltage 2027 Tamil cinema event

The makers of director Ashwath Marimuthu’s eagerly awaited action entertainer Dharman, featuring Rajinikanth in the lead and produced by veteran actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan’s Raaj Kamal Films International, announced on Thursday that shooting for the film’s second schedule has commenced.

RKFI set social media buzzing with a behind-the-scenes video featuring Rajinikanth on the sets and Ashwath Marimuthu in conversation with the Superstar.

“The deadly doctor. #Dharman Schedule 2 Begins, and this one’s legendary. #KettaPaiyanSir. #SuperstarRajinikanth #KamalHaasan,” the production house posted.

And that “deadly doctor” tag is no mere marketing flourish. The film’s first look had already presented Rajinikanth in an arresting avatar—dressed in surgical scrubs, wielding a scalpel, with a battered rowdy sprawled beneath him—while the title’s philosophical battle cry proclaimed “Dharmame Vellum!” or “Righteousness alone will triumph.”

From scalpel to swagger: Rajini gets a new ‘look’

The buzz around Dharman intensified in June when the makers released a making video showing the painstaking process behind Rajinikanth’s appearance in the film.

Director Ashwath Marimuthu subsequently shared a new poster featuring the Superstar and wrote:

“We heard you !! Ithan hair styleu (This is the hair style)!! Ithan looku (This is the look)! Sexy work @kabilanchelliah.”

The earlier RKFI glimpse, titled “THE OG SWAG. #Dharman. The Making of the First Look,” offered fans a peek behind the curtain, showing accessories being considered for Rajinikanth and Ashwath demonstrating the exact pose he wanted from the star.

Even more special was the presence of Kamal Haasan alongside Rajinikanth, with the two veterans exchanging pleasantries—another visual reminder that Dharman is carrying the weight of one of Tamil cinema’s most celebrated friendships as well as the expectations surrounding a major Rajini vehicle.

When Rajini meets Ashwath: a new-age Superstar experiment

For Ashwath Marimuthu, best known for Oh My Kadavule and Dragon, Dharman represents a giant leap into Superstar territory. At the film’s launch, the director described the project as a commercial entertainer with family and thriller elements, while Rajinikanth’s doctor avatar immediately suggested that the film would have a darker action edge.

The combination is intriguing: Rajinikanth’s larger-than-life screen grammar meets Ashwath’s contemporary storytelling sensibility.

The director’s appointment itself followed a much-discussed journey for the project. What began as Thalaivar 173 went through changes in its directorial team before Ashwath Marimuthu was finally announced at the official title launch.

And now the second schedule signals that the film is moving ahead with renewed momentum.

Kamal’s ‘Dharman’ dream meets Rajini’s mass universe

There is another layer to the anticipation.

Dharman brings together Rajinikanth as leading man and Kamal Haasan as producer, under the banner of Raaj Kamal Films International. Their association has added enormous emotional and cinematic value to the project, particularly given their decades-long friendship and shared history in Tamil cinema.

When announcing the title, Kamal Haasan summed up the film’s central philosophy in four words:

“Dharmame vellum!”

That line has since become the heartbeat of the project.

The title poster, meanwhile, deliberately juxtaposes medicine and menace—Rajinikanth in an operating theatre, scalpel in hand, while a slain rowdy lies beneath him. It is a visual equation that instantly asks the question: what happens when the man who saves lives decides that justice must also be operated upon?

Anirudh’s beats, Anbariv’s action and a formidable technical team

The film’s technical line-up adds further firepower.

Anirudh Ravichander is composing the music, while Niketh Bommi handles cinematography and Pradeep E Raghav is responsible for editing. National Award-winning stunt duo Anbariv is choreographing the action sequences.

The cast also includes Simran and Raashii Khanna, with the latter recently revealing that one of Rajinikanth’s observations stayed with her during the making of the film: “Actors are prisoners.”

That remark acquires an interesting resonance in a film where Rajinikanth himself appears to be breaking out of the conventional Superstar template.

‘Ketta Paiyan Sir’: the doctor has entered the building

The second-schedule announcement may have been brief, but its impact is anything but small.

With every glimpse, Dharman has carefully amplified three ingredients—Rajinikanth’s swagger, Ashwath Marimuthu’s new-age vision and Kamal Haasan’s production muscle.

The result is a film that is already generating a formidable pre-release aura without revealing too much of its story.

The Superstar has a scalpel instead of a sword, a doctor’s coat instead of the familiar mass-hero uniform and a director determined to give the icon a fresh cinematic playground.

But one thing remains quintessentially Rajini.

When the world asks which way he will go, the answer is already written: “En vazhi thani vazhi.”

And with Dharman entering Schedule 2, Thalaivar’s new route has officially begun.