Naila Grrewal On Joining Allu Arjun, Atlee’s Raaka: ‘A Masterclass That Pushes The Envelope..'

Speaking about collaborating with filmmaker Atlee, Naila Grrewal says, "Here is a man who is dealing on a very different scale, position and storytelling. It feels like a masterclass to understand the amount of dedication and persistence that is needed to make something this mammoth come to life."

For Naila Grrewal, Raaka is more than a new film credit-it is a defining step into South Indian cinema and a chance to work on one of the most ambitious projects in Indian entertainment. Eleven years into her Bollywood career, the actress is making her South debut in Atlee's pan-Indian film, which stars Allu Arjun and Deepika Padukone in lead roles. The project also marks the first collaboration between Atlee and Allu Arjun, bringing the filmmaker's long-envisioned project to the screen.

Grrewal says the opportunity came after she expressed her admiration for Atlee and her desire to collaborate with him during their first meeting. "He was extremely gracious to take that conversation forward and be open to the idea of collaborating with someone who has only worked in the Hindi film industry," she says.

The actress, who made her Bollywood debut in Imtiaz Ali's Tamasha in 2015, was most recently seen as advocate Ananya Shroff in Season 2 of Maamla Legal Hai, alongside Ravi Kishan, Nidhi Bisht, Anant Joshi and Anjum Batra.

For Grrewal, Raaka represents the growing fluidity of Indian cinema, where talent, scale and storytelling are increasingly crossing regional boundaries. She sees the film as a masterclass in filmmaking and a rare opportunity to be part of a production designed to travel beyond language and geography. While details of the film remain under wraps, audiences can expect a large-scale spectacle shaped by Atlee's trademark ambition and emotional storytelling.