Home » News » Kamal Haasan, not Jayam Ravi, was the first choice for Genie! Director Arjunan Jr reveals...
Kamal Haasan, not Jayam Ravi, was the first choice for Genie! Director Arjunan Jr reveals...
Director Arjunan Jr opened about why he wished to pursue a fantasy genre and also made a few shocking revelations. Find out more here
Mar 27, 2024
Genie was originally written for Kamal Haasan, reveals director Arjunan
The first-look posters for director Arjunan Jr’s upcoming Tamil fantasy drama Genie have been trending on social media. As the film’s shooting nears completion, Arjunan revealed some interesting details about the film. A former associate of director Mysskin, Arjunan, revealed that he wanted to make a film that did not "thrive on violence." “I am not a huge fan of violence, so I wanted to make a film that is not high on violence, gangsters, bloodshed, and drugs, which is what big-ticket films are thriving on these days,” the director said.
Kamal Haasan was the first choice for Genie
Arjunan also revealed that his first choice for the lead actor was not Jayam Ravi but Ulaganayagan Kamal Haasan. “When I finished writing the script for Genie, I reached out to him (Haasan) and was pursuing him for almost three years. Unfortunately, I could not (bring Haasan onboard) as I am a debut director. I managed to get close to his inner circle, and all I wanted was five minutes of his (Haasan's) time to pitch the story to him. Unfortunately, I never got to do that,” he revealed.
The director added that although he had an opportunity to connect with Haasan through producer Ishari Ganesh, the plan got shelved due to COVID.
Genie director Arjunan gravitates towards the fantasy genre
Arjunan also revealed that he gravitated towards the fantasy genre due to a lack of "wonder" in cinema these days. “To me, films are like wonders. Although there are niche films being made these days, I don't get that sense of wonder in many of our theatrical films these days. That is why I gravitate towards fantasy. But my plan was to make something that's associated with magical realism, like a genie film with a twist. Genie is a fantasy film with a lot of emotions,” the director exclaimed.
Also read: Thug Life update – After Dulquer Salmaan, Jayaram Ravi opts out of Kamal Haasan, Mani Ratnam’s film?
Genie, the upcoming fantasy drama, also stars Krithi Shetty, Kalyani Priyadarshan and Wamiqa Gabbi in important roles. The film has a lot of VFX and CGI work, which was done by PhantomFX. The same company had done the CGI work on Sivakarthikeyan's sci-fi comedy Ayalaan.
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