{"id":369318,"date":"2026-04-08T09:55:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T09:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/369318\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T09:55:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T09:55:08","slug":"allu-arjun-deepika-padukone-director-atlee-unite-for-raaka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/369318\/","title":{"rendered":"Allu Arjun, Deepika Padukone, Director Atlee Unite for &#8216;Raaka&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tIndia\u2019s Sun Pictures has unveiled the title of its large-scale fantasy-action collaboration between director <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/t\/atlee\/\" id=\"auto-tag_atlee\" data-tag=\"atlee\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Atlee<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/t\/allu-arjun\/\" id=\"auto-tag_allu-arjun\" data-tag=\"allu-arjun\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Allu Arjun<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/t\/deepika-padukone\/\" id=\"auto-tag_deepika-padukone\" data-tag=\"deepika-padukone\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Deepika Padukone<\/a>: \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/t\/raaka\/\" id=\"auto-tag_raaka\" data-tag=\"raaka\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Raaka<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThe announcement came Wednesday, on Arjun\u2019s birthday, accompanied by a title poster that leans into dark, creature-driven imagery.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tAtlee, whose credits include the Shah Rukh Khan blockbuster \u201cJawan\u201d as well as Tamil-language hits \u201cMersal\u201d and \u201cBigil,\u201d described the project as a long-gestating passion. \u201c\u2018Raaka\u2019 isn\u2019t just a film\u2026 it\u2019s a part of me I\u2019ve carried for years. For 18 years, I held on to one idea, never letting it fade. It tested me, shaped me, and stayed with me through everything. And honestly\u2026 this is just the beginning,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tSun Pictures, the Chennai-based production banner, said the film represents its highest ambitions for Indian cinema\u2019s international reach. \u201cSun Pictures is privileged to bring together the singular storytelling of Atlee and the iconic stature of Allu Arjun in a project built for the world,\u201d the company said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tArjun, who won the Indian National Film Award for best actor for his performance in \u201cPushpa: The Rise,\u201d arrives at \u201cRaaka\u201d off the back of a franchise that reshaped Indian cinema\u2019s commercial landscape. The first \u201cPushpa\u201d film, directed by Sukumar and co-starring Rashmika Mandanna and Fahadh Faasil, grossed some $42 million worldwide on its 2021 release. Its 2024 sequel, \u201cPushpa 2: The Rule,\u201d collected approximately $194 million globally, making it the third-highest-grossing Indian film of all time behind \u201cDangal\u201d and \u201cBaahubali 2: The Conclusion.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tPadukone, who previously worked with Atlee on \u201cJawan\u201d opposite Shah Rukh Khan, joins the project as female lead \u2013 her first collaboration with Arjun. Her casting was announced by Sun Pictures last year. <\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"c-lazy-image__img lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-display-block lrv-u-height-auto\" src=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/themes\/pmc-variety-2020\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/01-A6-1stLook-Insta-English.jpg.jpeg\" alt=\"\" data-lazy- data-lazy- height=\"1024\" width=\"819\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"India\u2019s Sun Pictures has unveiled the title of its large-scale fantasy-action collaboration between director Atlee, Allu Arjun and&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":369319,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[506,507,504,156,409,111,139,69,193409],"class_list":{"0":"post-369318","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-allu-arjun","9":"tag-atlee","10":"tag-deepika-padukone","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-movies","13":"tag-new-zealand","14":"tag-newzealand","15":"tag-nz","16":"tag-raaka"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=369318"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369318\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/369319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=369318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=369318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=369318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}