Telugu director Gopichand Malineni recently debuted in Bollywood with the Sunny Deol-starrer Jaat. But he revealed in a Telugu One interview that before that, he was supposed to do a Kollywood film with actor Vijay instead. He also claims that despite liking his script, Vijay was ‘pressured’ to pick a Tamil director for his final project. (Also Read: Vijay’s security pulls out a gun as fan tries to get close to actor at airport; internet calls it ‘scary’. Watch)

Gopichand Malineni on Vijay’s final project

Gopichand was asked if it’s true that he approached Chiranjeevi for a film after Veera Simha Reddy’s (2023) success and that it didn’t pan out. The director instead revealed that he approached Vijay, stating, “Immediately after Veera Simha Reddy, I wrote a story and narrated it to Vijay. He liked it so much that he approved it in one sitting.”

However, Gopichand claims that because he had already done Varisu (2023) with a Telugu director, Vamshi Paidipally, he was ‘pressured’ to pick a Tamil filmmaker. “He was ready to announce it. But because this would become his last film before entering politics, his people pressured him to opt for a Tamil director rather than a Telugu one. He had already done Varisu with a Telugu director, so they did not want him to work with a Telugu director again so soon.”

He said that after Vijay backed out of the film, the director wanted to cast Ravi Teja for the role, but that hasn’t panned out yet either.

Vijay’s upcoming film Jana Nayagan

After the 2024 film The Greatest of All Time by Venkat Prabhu, all eyes were on Vijay’s final project after he announced his political party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). His final film, Jana Nayagan, stars Vijay, Pooja Hegde and Bobby Deol in the lead roles, alongside Gautham Vasudev Menon, Prakash Raj, Narain, Priyamani, Mamitha Baiju, Monisha Blessy and Varalaxmi Sarathkumar. It is slated for release on January 9, 2026.