It's been about a decade since actor Santhanam played a comic relief in a film headlined by another actor. It was announced early this year that he would star in STR 49, fronted by Silambarasan TR; however, the film shows no sign of progress.

Against this backdrop, the rumour mills of Kollywood suggest that Santhanam will be a part of Rajinikanth-Nelson Dilipkumar's Jailer 2, a sequel to the 2023 action film Jailer. If these reports are anything to go by, it will be exciting to watch Santhanam's on-your-face humour in Nelson's dark comedy space.

Furthermore, if this development turns out to be true, then Jailer 2 would be the third collaboration between Rajinikanth and Santhanam after Enthiran (2011), directed by Shankar, and Lingaa (2014), directed by KS Ravikumar.

The first film revolves around idol smuggling gangs, and ACP Arjun Pandian is extorted by a gang because he has proven to be a nuisance. As the news of his death shatters his family, his father and former jailer 'Tiger' Muthuvel Pandian (Rajinikanth) springs into action to take the gang head on, showing he is still on top of his game.

Jailer, produced by Sun Pictures' Kalanithi Maran, emerged as the highest grosser in the Tamil industry in 2023, with a box office collection of around Rs 650 crore.

Ramya Krishnan, Yogi Babu, and Shivarajkumar are set to reprise their roles. The star cast is speculated to expand with the inclusion of Nandamuri Balakrishna, SJ Suryah, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Vidya Balan, and Mithun Chakraborty.

Nelson retains his technical team, comprising composer Anirudh, cinematographer Vijay Kartik Kannan, and editor R Nirmal, for Jailer 2.