# Ram Pothineni approached for villain role in Rajinikanth’s Dharman

2026-08-20T08:42:35+00:00 | Entertainment | Indian Opinion Desk

Corroboration: 2 independent outlets

Ram Pothineni has been approached to play the main antagonist opposite Rajinikanth in the upcoming Tamil film Dharman, directed by Ashwath Marimuthu. Tracktollywood.com reports the role is for a 'formidable antagonist' with intense face-off scenes, while m9.news says Ram was finalised after Dhruv Vikram turned down the offer. The film is produced by Kamal Haasan’s Raaj Kamal Films International and stars Rajinikanth as a doctor, with Raashi Khanna, Simran, Basil Joseph and Priyanka Arul Mohan in supporting roles. A Pongal 2027 release is planned. Fan reaction is divided. Tracktollywood.com reports that Ram's fans have 'expressed reservations' because recent Rajinikanth films, Vettaiyan and Coolie, gave antagonistic roles to Rana Daggubati and Nagarjuna that received mixed reviews. m9.news highlights that Nagarjuna's role was 'criminally wasted' and killed in the climax, calling it a 'recurring problem' in Rajini films. Neither outlet has official confirmation from the director, producer or Ram. No official announcement has been made by Ashwath Marimuthu, Kamal Haasan or Ram Pothineni regarding the casting. The film's final lineup remains speculative until an announcement.

## Indian Opinion Analysis

m9.news frames the Ram Pothineni casting entirely through the prism of Rajinikanth’s recent films, using the words 'scary history' and 'damp squib' to pre-empt disappointment, it starts from the assumption of failure. Tracktollywood.com is more circumspect: it reports the same industry concern but hedges every claim with 'unconfirmed' and 'rumor,' and it explicitly notes that fans 'await an official announcement.' Neither outlet has seen the script, both are projecting a pattern from Coolie and Vettaiyan. The measured read: Ram has been approached, Dharman is a 2027 release with no confirmed cast beyond Rajinikanth, and the real test is whether Ashwath Marimuthu writes a two-dimensional antagonist or a layered foil. Watch for the first official poster or lineup confirmation from Raaj Kamal Films.

## Coverage

Coverage: 2 sources, 1 neutral, 1 sensationalist
- m9.news (sensationalist) <https://www.m9.news/movienews/ram-pothineni-dharman-rajinikanth-role/>
  leads with past failures of Telugu stars in Rajini films, frames casting as 'scary' rather than news
- tracktollywood.com (neutral report) <https://tracktollywood.com/ram-pothineni-villain-rajinikanth-dharman/>
  reports buzz plainly, marks everything unconfirmed, notes fan concern without alarm

This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.

Tags: Ashwath Marimuthu, Dharman, Kamal Haasan, Raaj Kamal Films International, Rajinikanth, Ram Pothineni
Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/ram-pothineni-approached-for-villain-role-in-rajinikanths-dharman/
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Cite: https://indianopinion.org/ram-pothineni-approached-for-villain-role-in-rajinikanths-dharman/#story-in-brief

How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/