The upcoming film stars Vijay in dual roles alongside an ensemble cast.
'GOAT' - The Greatest of All Time - is the penultimate film of Thalapathy Vijay before he enters politics. And with just a couple of days left until the film's release, the anticipation surrounding it has reached absolutely sky-high! Looking at the advance booking numbers, it's evident yet again that Vijay is the GOAT, and has an unprecedented craze among fans. In fact, according to reports, its early morning shows will begin as early as 4 am in the South Indian states.
Helmed by Venkat Prabhu, 'GOAT' is a Tamil-language science fiction action film starring Vijay in dual roles. The film follows Gandhi, a former leader of a special anti-terrorist squad, who reconciles with his squad members for a mission. Besides the superstar, it also stars Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan, Jayaram, Ajmal Ameer, Laila, Sneha, Yogi Babu, Meenakshi Chaudhary, Vaibhav, and PremgiAmaren among others.
As we gear up to experience the film on the big screen (on September 5), let's learn an interesting fact about it that not many know.
Yes, you read it absolutely right! Thalapathy Vijay is one of the most bankable (if not the most) stars of Indian cinema, and has a market pull like no other. His name alone is the guarantee of box office success - and all his recent films emerged as blockbusters.
For his latest film 'Leo', Vijay reportedly charged a remuneration of ₹120 crores. And for 'GOAT', he took home a paycheck of ₹200 crores, making him the highest-paid actor in India at this moment. Notably, the film has been made on an estimated budget of ₹350 crores.
However, it's worth noting that according to reports by Koimoi and DNA, Rajinikanth is being paid ₹260-₹280 crores for his upcoming film 'Coolie', directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj. This would make him the highest-paid actor in entire Asia.
'GOAT' is Thalapathy Vijay's 68th film as a lead actor.
Thalapathy 68 was actually supposed to be directed by Atlee (marking their collaboration after the blockbusters, 'Theri', 'Mersal', and 'Bigil'). And its production was scheduled to begin after the superstar completed 'Varisu' and 'Leo', and the director wrapped up filming 'Jawan'. However, Atlee later became busy with 'Baby John', and it was announced that he would no longer direct Thalapathy 68.
The film has been shot at several locations across the world, including Chennai, Hyderabad, Pondicherry, Thiruvananthapuram, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Russia, and the United States.
It is AGS Entertainment's 25th film. Over the years, they have produced films like 'ThiruttuPayale', 'Maasilamani', 'Avan Ivan', 'Maatrraan', 'Thani Oruvan', and 'Bigil' among others. Next, they will make 'Dragon' and 'Thani Oruvan 2'.
The film has used de-aging technology (handled by Lola Visual Effects with a cost of ₹6 crore) to portray Vijay as a younger character in a 10-minute sequence. Also, some reports suggest that the makers have used AI technology to bring back the popular late actor, Vijayakanth, on the screen.
