Rajinikanth reviews Retro, calls Suriya's performance 'super' in Karthik Subbaraj film: 'Last 40 minutes are...'

The Tamil romantic action film Retro, featuring Suriya and Pooja Hegde in the lead roles, was released in the cinemas on May 1 and opened to positive to mixed reviews from the audiences and critics. Director Karthik Subbaraj has now disclosed that superstar Rajinikanth loved his film and that he had termed Suriya's performance in it as "super." 

Taking to his X timeline, Karthik Subbaraj wrote, "Thalaivar watched #Retro & he loved it...Exact words of Thalaivar...'What an effort by (the) whole team...Suriya performance Super.... Last 40 minutes of the film Superb... Laughter touch is Fantastic....God bless. Am flying now.....Love you Thalaivaaa." The filmmaker had directed Rajinikanth in the 2019 action drama film Petta.

Meanwhile, the director, in an interview to The Hollywood Reporter India, has said that after Retro, he was contemplating doing an independent movie next. "I haven't decided as such. After DoubleX (Jigarthanda DoubleX) itself, I thought I should make an Indie film. Make a film and just send it to festivals and after a year, release it in theatres. I have a script ready for it but then Retro happened. Now, I am thinking maybe I should do that."

The 2023 action drama Jigarthanda DoubleX was headlined by Raghava Lawrence and SJ Suryah. It was a prequel to Karthik's second directorial Jigarthanda, which was released in 2014 and starred Siddharth and Bobby Simha. Both the movies are considered among the finest Tamil movies made in the 21st century.

Thalaivar watched #Retro & he Loved it...

Exact words of Thalaivar......
"What an effort by whole team.... Suriya performance Super.... Last 40 minutes of the film Superb... Laughter touch is Fantastic....God bless"

Am flying now.....Love you Thalaivaaa… pic.twitter.com/D9pBy5DjhJ

— karthik subbaraj (@karthiksubbaraj) May 6, 2025

Coming back to Retro, apart from Suriya and Pooja Hegde, the film also stars Joju George, Jayaram, Nassar, Karunakaran, Swasika, and Prakash Raj in pivotal roles. The Santhosh Narayanan musical is bankrolled by Karthik Subbaraj and Suriya themselves under their banners Stone Bench Creations and 2D Entertainment.

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