Director Sudha Kongara, who is gearing up for the release of her upcoming political historical drama Parasakthi starring Sivakarthikeyan, has revealed that she originally intended to make a small love story with Dulquer Salmaan in the lead.

Speaking to Galatta Plus, Kongara said the idea emerged after her previous project Puranaanooru—which was to star Suriya and Dulquer—was shelved. “I remember, just before this film, I went to DQ and told him, ‘Dulquer yaar, my movie isn’t happening. Now I have this small love story, let’s do that.’ I narrated the story to him; he was excited, I was excited, but the only thing he asked was… how is this small?” she recalled.

However, the planned “small” love story quickly expanded in scale. Kongara explained, “It wasn’t small, it didn’t turn out to be small. Somehow, that film just visually opened up. Then it became expensive. It had the ocean, it had water, and it involved two countries. It was that kind of love story.”

With Puranaanooru shelved, Kongara revived the concept into Parasakthi, this time casting Sivakarthikeyan in the lead. The film, set in 1960s Madras, follows two brothers amid civil unrest and government interference, featuring Ravi Mohan as the antagonist, and co-leads Atharvaa Murali and Sreeleela. The ensemble also includes Kulappulli Leela, Prakash Belawadi, Dev Ramnath, Prithvi Rajan, Guru Somasundaram, Chetan, with cameo appearances by Basil Joseph and Rana Daggubati..

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Meanwhile, Dulquer Salmaan has moved on to his next project, the Malayalam action thriller I’m Game, directed by Nahas Hidayath, with a cast including Kathir, Antony Varghese Pepe, Mysskin, and Kayadu Lohar. The film is expected to release during Onam this year.