Everything about superstar Rajinikanth is larger than life — his latest flick Kochadaiyaan promises to be not only larger than life, but also larger than everything else he has done before.

If his last blockbuster Enthiran (Robot in Hindi) used unprecedented computer graphics which clicked with the masses big time, Kochadaiyan will use motion capture, an animation technique used by Steven Spielberg for The Adventures of Tintin.

Another larger than life fact is that Rajini will be playing a long-haired Pandya king known for his legendary valour. This eighth century king had dominated the Cheras, Cholas and Marathas. As in the legend, an animated Rajini will sport the kings signature long hair in the film. AR Rahman will score the soundtrack as well as the background score. One of the top hit directors in the south, a Rajni regular, KS Ravikumar, will direct the movie.

The floors of his favourite studio in the city, the AVM, is being readied for the shoot, where he will be performing mostly in front of coloured screens in body suits with reflective markers attached to them. Cavorting with him in body suits and markers will be Katrina Kaif. His daughter-producer Soundarya has confirmed that Katrina was excited about this film and is working out her dates.

What is however not clear, is if there will be real human characters in the film interacting with animated characters enlivened by real-character moves, or will it remain a fully animated film. Soundarya has promised her twitter followers that the first look of the film will be out by the end of the month.

In motion capture, that Kochadaiyaan will employ, the actors wear body suits with reflective magnetic markers which will plot their movements and expressions through several digital cameras and impart them to animated characters using high-end computers and software. This technique makes animation close to natural and captures even the subtle expressions and movements of body parts as one saw in Avatar or Tintin. Different versions of motion capture and appropriate high-tech contraptions have been in use for a while in Hollywood which resulted in some breathtaking visuals in films such as Matrix.