Bollywood star Ranveer Singh couldn’t hold back his excitement after visiting the set of director Atlee’s next big film, tentatively titled AA22xA6, starring Deepika Padukone and Allu Arjun. In a recent event, Singh called Atlee the “King of Masala” and teased the film as a game-changer for Indian cinema.

Ranveer, who has always been vocal about his love for South Indian cinema, praised Atlee’s vision and shared that the director is creating something truly unique.

“I happened to visit him on the set of his current film because my wife was shooting with him,” said Ranveer.

“And you may have heard this before, but take it from me, he is creating something that you will have never experienced in Indian cinema before.”

He went on to express how much the film impacted him emotionally, saying, “Thank you for doing this for us, sir. I love the movie; it put a big smile on my face when I saw it.”

Calling Atlee a master of commercial storytelling, Ranveer added, “He’s the King of Masala, and it’s only appropriate that he would direct the definitive presentation of that genre.”

Ranveer also shared his admiration for Atlee long before the director's recent success with Jawan. He revealed that he reached out to the filmmaker years ago, long before Atlee became a pan-India sensation.

“Before he became a household name with Jawan and emerged as the biggest director in India, I had messaged him after Mersal (2017),” Ranveer said.

“I was like, ‘I love your cinema, you should come to Mumbai, and we should make some movies together.’ This was back then. I wanted to collaborate with Atlee sir.”

AA22xA6, announced on Allu Arjun’s birthday in April 2025, marks the first-time on-screen pairing between Deepika Padukone and the Pushpa actor. It is also Deepika’s first film with Atlee.