Big Brother) is a 2021 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed by Siva and produced by Kalanithi Maran under the banner Sun Pictures.

The film stars Rajinikanth in the titular role, alongside Khushbu, Meena, Nayanthara, and Keerthy Suresh, Jagapathi Babu, Prakash Raj, Soori, Pandiarajan, Sathyan and Sathish.

The movie's plot revolves around Kaalaiyan, a sarpanch (decision maker) in Thanjavur, who strives to protect his sister from a businessman and his elder brother.

When Meenatchi and her husband started a business in Kolkata, a wealthy businessman and underworld don Manoj Parekar approached them.

Over the following weeks, Meenatchi's factory caught fire, they were forced to close it, and her husband was arrested on invented charges and tortured in police custody.

After learning about Meenatchi's misfortune, Kaalaiyan wants to kill the gangsters using his sister as bait and swears to destroy Manoj Parekar.

Enraged and humiliated, Manoj visits his estranged brother Udhav Parekar, where he demands the death of Annaatthe and then kills himself.

[7][8] On 11 October, Kalanithi Maran, whose production house Sun Pictures was bankrolling the venture, confirmed the project, which had the working title Thalaivar 168.

"[24] Siva's usual technical crew consisting of Vetri, Ruben, and Milan, as well as first-time collaborator Dhilip Subbarayan, were reported to be the film's cinematographer, editor, art director and stunt choreographer, respectively.

[60] After the government gave permission to resume film and television production following the pandemic, Rajinikanth was reported to have joined the sets in October 2020.

[73][74] Filming was halted on 23 December 2020[75] after eight crew members were diagnosed with COVID-19[76] although Rajinikanth tested negative[77] and underwent self-quarantine in Hyderabad.

[99] The soundtrack album would reportedly have five songs and a theme, and lyrics would be written by Thamarai, Viveka, Yugabharathi, Arun Bharathi, Mani Amuthavan and Arivu.

[102][103] Other singers on album are K. S. Chithra, Sid Sriram, Shreya Ghoshal, Anirudh Ravichander, Diwakar, and the composer Imman.

[109] The soundtrack, including the earlier released singles, received a positive response from audiences and topped the charts online.

[121] Soundarya, in her newly launched social-media platform Huut, shared her review about the film, saying:[citation needed] The people haven't still watched what you've done in Annaatthe Siva sir, but I've witnessed it.

[124] On 30 October 2021, advanced bookings for the film began at a limited number of screens in Tamil Nadu;[125][126] sales were good despite the lack of promotional activities.

[128] In mid-October 2021, the co-founders of Asian Cinemas Narayandas K Narang and D. Suresh Babu announced they had acquired the theatrical rights to Annaatthe in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana valued at ₹12 crore (US$1.4 million),[129] for the film.

Some YouTube channel reviews have gone down so much, but despite those negative reviews, the success of Annaatthe will make your heads up"[141] M. Suganth of The Times of India gave the film two stars out of five and wrote: If Petta felt like a pastiche of Rajinikanth's films, Annaatthe seems like a collage made out of the weaker moments from director Siva's filmography.

We have the villains from Siruthai, the 'saviour who cannot reveal his identity' angle from Veeram, the brother-sister sentiment from Vedalam, and the rural backdrop from Viswasam.

D. Imman's use of a sentimental score hardly adds an emotional punch to the action scenes, which are shot in a generic manner.

[143]Sify gave two-and-a-half stars out of five and wrote: "The bottom line about Annaatthe is that, although the old Rajini formula is back, the entertainment we had witnessed in those days is missing in this 2021 film".

[146]Moviecrow gave the film two out of five, writing: "Expected a cracker of a festival entertainer, but turns out as a disappointing formulaic outing majorly due to its bland storytelling".

"[148] Aditya Srikrishna of The Quint wrote: "Annaatthe has Rajinikanth in probably his worst film since Baba and in a performance that displays the weariness of a hitchhiker air dropped in the middle of a desert and left with an empty water bottle".

[149] Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) gave two-and-a-half stars out of five and wrote: "despite some original dialogues and Imman's foot-tapping music, on the whole, Annaatthe ends up being a sentimental drama that has very little to offer in terms of entertainment".

"[153] Sudhir Srinivasan of The New Indian Express stated: As we seem to slowly near the end of his filmography (there are constantly rumours about what might be his last film), there's the temptation to lap up whatever we get.

[155] Only Kollywood gave two-and-three-quarters stars out of five and wrote: It's been years since we have seen the Superstar in such a rural outing, and he rules the roost from the very first scene in his own style.

The mischief and the frolic that we usually associate with his earlier films such as Padayappa and Muthu is back and roaring here, as we get to see him performing the right 'Rajinisms'.

[156]Sowmya Rajendran of The News Minute gave the film one star out of five and wrote: Meena and Khushbu appear in a completely jarring comedy track, and it's sad to see the actors being reduced to this.

The affection you have for the actor makes you forgive the obvious stiffness in his body, the glaring age difference between him and the woman he's romancing, the pasty make-up and much else.

[157]Mirchi9 gave the film one-and-three-quarters stars out of five and wrote: "Overall, Peddanna is a very formulaic and routine mass sentiment fare that is predictable and outdated from the word go.