Atlee expressed his Oscar aspirations at Baththa's success meet, envisioning a journey akin to Parasite. He promised to speak only in Tamil if he wins, showcasing his pride as a Tamilian and his belief in achieving global recognition for his films.
Tamil filmmaker and producer Atlee shared a big dream at the success meet for his latest film, Baththa. "I'd love to take a film like Baththa to the Oscars, and wish it had a journey similar to that of Parasite [Bong Joon Ho's Korean Oscar-winner]"
Addressing the press, he spoke about how he has strived to make most of his dreams come true. “When I said during my school days that I would do a film with Vijay sir and make a ₹1,000 crore film in Hindi with Shah Rukh Khan sir, everyone would have laughed. But I did it. Likewise, I will take Raaka to the Oscars. I’m making this promise: if I win an Oscar, I will speak only in Tamil. I truly believe we can achieve it," he added.
Directed by Balaji Tharaneetharan, Baththa is produced by Murad Khetani, Priya Atlee, Alok Jain and Ajit Andhare, and presented by Tamil filmmaker Atlee. Music for the film is by Sai Abhyankkar, whose recent musicals include RJ Balaji's Karuppu (2026) and the Tamil action comedy, Dude (2025). The film's technical team also comprises Selva Kumar S.K as director of photography, R.Kalaivanan as editor and production designer T. Muthuraj.
Baththa marks the third collaboration between Sethupathi and director Balaji Tharaneetharan. Their previous projects together are Tharaneetharan's debut directorial Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom (2012), and Seethakaathi (2018).
Meanwhile, Raaka, the upcoming film starring Allu Arjun and directed by Atlee, recently set a Guinness World Record for the 'Most People Motion-Captured in Real-Time', with 37 performers captured simultaneously in a single session. Atlee and Allu Arjun came together to receive the Guinness World Record certificate at a felicitation event.
Co-starring Deepika Padukone, and reportedly mounted on a massive scale, Raaka is being positioned as a genre-defining spectacle, blending scale, storytelling, and cinematic innovation. A poster for the film shared earlier this year featured Allu Arjun in an enigmatic look. A creature’s hand, with sharp claws, is caught mid-gesture. A closer glimpse at the poster also reveals a unique skin indentation on Arjun's forehead.
Raaka is said to be a sci-fi drama made with state-of-the-art visual effects. Atlee's other credits include Jawan, Theri, Mersal, and Bigil. Allu Arjun's other upcoming projects include his collaboration with Tamil director Lokesh Kanagaraj.