The thumping success of Vijay's Kaththi has set the cat among pigeons in Kollywood.Some reports have appeared, anointing Vijay as the next superstar in Tamil Nadu, leaving Rajinikanth's legions of fans rattled.

The reality is that even at 63, few can match what Rajini does at the box office. Of course, his animation drama Kochadaiiyaan was an aberration. If anyone does need proof, here it is. According to our trade sources, Rajini's upcoming release Lingaa has already raked in over Rs 100 crore at the box office, more than a month before the film's release.

For the die-hard fans, who have been waiting with bated breath, the good news is that Lingaa has been picked up by Eros International Media, which has apparently bought the theatrical rights of the film for a whopping Rs100-crore plus. Though the exact amount is not known, we have reliably learnt that the figure has "easily crossed the Rs100-crore mark".

Interestingly, Eros is backing the film after taking a big blow with the disastrous show of SoundaryaRajinikanth-directedKochadaiiyaan. According to a source, it was superstar's daughter who convinced the production house to back Lingaa, which according to trade pundits is expected to rock at the ticket windows.

"Now that Soundarya is part of the Eros team, she has convinced them to buy and release Lingaa. Eros was also one of the distributors of the blockbuster Enthiran, and that has given them the confidence to bet big on this film," a source privvy to the deal told Mirror.

Rajini's Enthiran was the first Tamil film to have done a business of over Rs 200 crore. While the poor show of Kochadaiyaan may have caused havoc for distributors, the pre-release hype of Lingaa, following the release of the teaser and first-look posters, have created great buzz.

Sources say Rajinikanth has worked extremely hard for Lingaa, which will decide -we must add to an extent -the fate of his superstar title, which is now being eyed by Vijay and Ajith.Rajini's family and fans were extremely upset when a Tamil magazine organised a show to declare Vijay as the next superstar, almost writing off Rajini.

Hence, with Lingaa, he would want to prove that he can't be replaced by anyone.

Post-Lingaa, Rajini is expected to do another film, most likely again for Eros.This could be the sequel to Enthiran, which will be helmed by Shankar.

Did someone say the superstar has plans to retire?