Atharvaa Murali To Replace Suriya In Bala’s Vanangaan?

It was announced earlier this week that Suriya and his production banner 2D Entertainment opted to walk out of the upcoming Tamil movie Vanangaan. Director Bala, who is at the helm, also confirmed the news saying that the movie is no longer relevant to the actor for his present-day stardom and stature. And now, reports on who will replace Suriya in the movie are making the rounds.

In one such report, it is stated the young actor Atharvaa Murali has been approached to replace Suriya in the movie. Though the news is not yet official, it is still making the rounds on social media. To recall, Atharvaa and Bala have previously collaborated for the hard-hitting Tamil movie, Paradesi. The film even went on to bag the National Film Award under the category of the Best Costume Designer back when it was released.

Coming back to Suriya’s decision to opt out of the movie, director Bala released a statement on December 4 announcing the news. She shared the statement in Tamil which read, "I wanted to direct Vanangaan with my younger brother, Suriya. However, after a few changes in the story, I wasn't sure if the project was suitable for someone like him. Both Suriya and I have decided that it is in the best interests of everyone involved that he should opt out of the project.

Suriya’s production house shared Bala’s statement and wrote, "Respecting the opinion and feelings of Bala brother, both Suriya and 2D Entertainment have decided to opt out of Vanangaan. We will always stand by Bala and his decisions." But Suriya is yet to personally respond to the decision.

Telugu actor Krithi Shetty, who won hearts with her splendid performance in Shyam Singha Roy has been roped in to play the co-lead. Malayalam actor Mamitha Baiju was on board the movie to play an important supporting role. Popular music composer GV Prakash Kumar is on board the project as its music composer. Talking about Suriya’s other movies, he has several projects in his lineup. This includes Vaadivaasal with Vetrimaaran, a film with Hari titled Aruvaa, and a sci-fi drama with Ravikumar.