'Rana' may be Rajinikanth's last film: Dhanush

Chennai: Tamil superstar Rajinikanth's son-in-law Dhanush has said that 'Rana' could be Rajini's last film.

"We will soon have a statement from Rajinikanth himself. The superstar (Rajini) is doing well, he is recovering very fast. He will be back in a week or 10 days," Dhanush said.

Rajinikanth left for Singapore last week for further treatment and had been in the ICU in a Singapore hospital since Sunday.

Rajinikanth fell ill on the first day's shooting of his new film 'Rana' at the end of April. After the mammoth success of his sci-fi mega venture 'Enthiran' (The Robot), which is also incidentally the costliest film ever made in India, he has signed up for Rana that also stars actress Deepika Padukone.

Rajinikanth has starred in more than 175 films in a career spanning 30 years. His tough-guy image and cigarette tossing stunts have catapulted him to superstardom in the past three decades and many have forgotten his humble beginning as a bus conductor in Mumbai.

However, his two visits to the hospital come at a time when a projected Rs 150 crore is riding on Rana that sees Rajinikanth again in the superlative, playing three roles opposite stars half his age.

Industry observers believe the movie may have to be shelved if the superstar's health remains critical. His iconic presence in South Indian cinema is often crucial to carry over a film to success despite a thriving culture of jokes and one-liners based on his stunts that border on the ridiculous.

Movies and entertainment website Galatta reported that most frames of Rana cannot be shot without the superstar who plays three lead roles.

The film is co-written and directed by KS Ravikumar and is jointly produced by Ocher Picture Productions and Eros International. It has music by AR Rahman. Deepika Padukone who plays a key role in the film, and was initially supposed to shoot with the star, went ahead and shot for a solo song sequence in his absence. She is scheduled to do the second installment of her shoot for Rana in June-July.

Industry insiders are hopeful that the superstar will have recovered by then, though his health will be under constant watch.