Thalapathy 69: Vijay’s request to remake Bhagavanth Kesari rejected by Anil Ravipudi? Director explains

Vijay, who announced his retirement from acting, will be appearing in his final film, which is tentatively titled Thalapathy 69. The actor is all set to pair up with director H Vinoth for the film, and there are huge expectations from it. With speculations rife that Thalapathy 69 will not be a fresh script, but a remake of Bhagavanth Kesari, director Anil Ravipudi who helmed the Telugu film revealed what discussion he had with Vijay.

‘Vijay watched Bhagavanth Kesari five times and wanted to remake it’

Also Read: H Vinoth: Thalapathy 69 will be 200% Vijay film, will not have political elements

Vijay, who is currently concentrating on politics, will star in Thalapathy 69, which is touted to be his final stint in Tamil cinema. Helmed by H Vinoth, reports suggest that the film is a remake of Nandamuri Balakrishna’s Bhagavanth Kesari.

While the makers have not officially announced this, actor VTV Ganesh, who spoke at the pre-release event of the Telugu film Sankranthiki Vasthunam revealed how Vijay watched Bhagavanth Kesari five times and loved it. “Vijay sir has watched five times and wanted him (Anil Ravipudi) to do direct the film. But Anil Ravipudi said he will not remake. There are about 4-5 directors who are waiting in the queue to direct his last film, but he (Anil) did not do,” VTV Ganesh said.

Anil Ravipudi talks about Thalapathy 69 if it turns out to be Bhagavanth Kesari

Anil Ravipudi interrupted the actor and clarified that he did not mean like that. "There were other discussions with Vijay sir. Vijay sir is doing one film now, but they did not announce what it is formally so far, and which is why it is not right to talk here. I tried to stop him for that, and we will discuss later when official news is out,” the director added.

The Sankranthiki Vasthunam filmmaker said, “I have huge respect for Vijay sir, and we had different discussions. My hearty wishes to Thalapathy 69 and he is one of the best heroes I have ever met. I met him during Varisu time, and I have personally witnessed with how much respect he treats filmmakers. We will talk after official news on Thalapathy 69 is out.”

Also Read: Thalapathy 69: Did H Vinoth narrate the story to Thalapathy Vijay on the sets of THIS film?

Thalapathy 69 is scheduled to be released in October 2025. The film also stars Pooja Hegde, Bobby Deol, Mamitha Baiju, Priya Mani, and others. 

Meanwhile, Bhagavanth Kesari can be streamed on JioCinema in Hindi and Prime Video in Telugu. JioCinema is an offering of the OTTplay Premium app.