If word in the grapevine is anything to go by, then director KS Ravikumar who has given Rajinikanth hits like Muthu (1995) and Padayappa (1999) has been roped in to handle the screenplay of the actor's upcoming Thalaivar 169 (tentative title).

Thalaivar 169 is a Nelson Dilipkumar directorial and the film was greenlit even before the filmmaker's last release Beast. However Nelson was heavily criticized for Beast's story, screenplay [even by Vijay's own father] and ever since murmurs about Thalaivar 169 has been in abundance. 

While talks like Nelson being ousted from Thalaivar 169 and Rajinikanth hesitating to work with the young filmmaker post Beast were dispelled as rumours, latest is that KS Ravikumar will be helping Nelson in developing Thalaivar 169's final script and that it will be in the style of another commercial entertainer. 

Thalaivar 169 produced by Sun Pictures is expected to begin shooting in August, 2022. The film has Anirudh for music and actors like Priyanka Mohan, Sandalwood's Shivrajkumar, Ramya Krishnan among others are said to be part of the movie.