Atlee Eyes an Oscar With Allu Arjun’s Raaka

Atlee has turned a routine success meet into a public Oscar declaration. Speaking in Chennai on Monday at the success event for Baththa, the Vijay Sethupathi-starrer he co-produced, the director said an Academy Award is now his “small dream” — and named Raaka, his upcoming film with Allu Arjun, among the projects he hopes can get him there.

He did not promise an Oscar for Raaka. He promised persistence.

An Oscar, in Tamil

Asked whether Raaka could win an Oscar, Atlee framed the milestone as something the public has learned to see as the ultimate validation. His wish, he said, is to find out if he can achieve it.

“When I stand on that stage, I will talk in Tamil,” he said.

Atlee also urged fans not to treat global recognition as an impossible target. Indian cinema can get there, he argued, and he plans to keep pushing until it happens.

Why Raaka is the next test

Raaka is being positioned as an ambitious international action drama. It marks Atlee’s first collaboration with Allu Arjun, with Deepika Padukone and Keerthy Suresh also in the cast. The project is likely to be split into two parts, with the first instalment expected in 2027.

That scale matters. Atlee has already shown he can mount a pan-Indian spectacle with Jawan, and Raaka gives him another large canvas on which to make a global case for Indian filmmaking.

From unknown in Mumbai to familiar face

Atlee recalled that when he first arrived in Mumbai, barely anyone knew him. He could walk around in shorts without being stopped, he said. Today, people approach him for photographs.

He credited Shah Rukh Khan and Jawan for that shift. “SRK believed in me,” Atlee said, and the recognition in Bollywood followed.

The bigger pitch

Atlee pushed back on the idea that wanting Hollywood’s attention is greedy. That view, he suggested, is a narrow mindset. In his telling, global recognition is a small, achievable step for Indian cinema — and he wants the people around him to share that confidence.

There is a practical point here for film fans:

• The dream is personal: Atlee calls an Oscar his own milestone, not a guarantee for any single release.
• Two films named: He wants both Baththa and Raaka to win.
• A long road: Raaka’s first part is expected only in 2027, so the campaign has not begun.
• A fallback plan: If Raaka does not get there, he said he will try again with his next project.

What to watch for

The line to remember is not that Raaka will win an Oscar. It is that Atlee is building his whole slate around the attempt. For fans, the first real signal will be how Raaka is mounted and marketed internationally as its 2027 release approaches.

Source: India Today