Allu Arjun-Basil Joseph film not ‘Shaktimaan’; director Arun Anirudhan clarifies

There has been a lot of talk about a possible collaboration between Tollywood’s giant Allu Arjun and Malayalam filmmaker Basil Joseph. Even though there is no official announcement yet, the rumours have made fans talk about it. Many people believed that the project could be the long-discussed ‘Shaktimaan’ film. However, ‘Athiradi’ director Arun Anirudhan has now cleared the confusion and confirmed that the movie with Allu Arjun is not connected to ‘Shaktimaan’.During a recent interaction with Club FM 94.3, Arun Anirudhan shared details about the ‘Shaktimaan’ project. He revealed that he and writer Paulson Skaria were working on the screenplay for Basil Joseph’s next directorial venture.He said, “Paulson (Skaria) and I were writing the screenplay for Basil’s next directorial. Unfortunately, it did not go on the floors. It was supposed to be a massive film… Shaktimaan. I do not know whether it will happen or not; it is quite complicated.”His comments confirmed that the Shaktimaan project existed at one stage, but it has not moved forward yet.Arun Anirudhan also mentioned that the upcoming project involving Allu Arjun and Basil Joseph has nothing to do with ‘Shaktimaan’. He said that the superhero film was never pitched to Allu Arjun. He said, “No… no. This (Allu Arjun film) has no connection with Shaktimaan. That is something different, and all updates will be shared soon.”The filmmaker was also asked if Basil Joseph attended Allu Sirish’s wedding because of the collaboration. Responding to this, he said, “Allu Arjun invited him. He has seen Minnal Murali, he liked it, and they are in touch.”While fans wait for an official update on the Basil Joseph project, Allu Arjun is currently busy shooting for Raaka with director Atlee. The big-budget film is expected to feature a parallel universe concept. The film stars Deepika Padukone as the female lead.After that, the ‘Pushpa’ actor is also set to team up with director Lokesh Kanagaraj for his much-awaited project, tentatively titled ‘AA23’.