For most filmmakers, the dream once was to direct a film. Then, it became about delivering a box-office hit. Now, it’s all about crafting a pan-India film. After the success of ‘Amaran’ (2024), led by Sivakarthikeyan and Bollywood-bound Sai Pallavi, director Rajkumar Periasamy is in the news for his next. Even before his film with Dhanush, ‘D55’, hits the screens, trade insiders claim the director is developing a pan-India project featuring Kartik Aaryan and Akshaye Khanna. Rumour mills also suggest that Vicky Kaushal was in contention for the lead role.

Backed by T-Series’s Bhushan Kumar, this yet-untitled film will mark Periasamy’s foray into mainstream Hindi cinema. If all goes as planned, the film will go on floors next year in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada — starring actors from various industries.

An insider shares, “The scale and the emotional complexity of the role is a steal for any young star. So, talks with Kartik have begun. Akshaye’s name came up for the morally grey parallel lead. In fact, Rajkumar has been hoping to work with Akshaye for a long time. [Right now] Akshaye is shooting the final leg of Aditya Dhar’s ‘Dhurandhar’, and having wrapped up his rom-com with Ananya Panday, Kartik will go back to the set of Anurag Basu’s musical — slotted to release in the summer of 2026. He will then allot his dates for the Rajkumar film.”