Sarathkumar Asks Producers to Cast Him Opposite Deepika Padukone After Dude’s Success

Veteran actor-politician R Sarathkumar publicly pitched himself to the producers of his latest hit film, Dude, asking them to cast him opposite superstar Deepika Padukone in a future project.

The request came during a press meet held to celebrate the success of Dude, which also stars Pradeep Ranganathan and Mamitha Baiju, after the film crossed ₹95 crore worldwide in its first five days of release.

A “Dude” Wants a Duet

During his speech, Sarathkumar noted that his role in Dude had earned him a younger fanbase who now call him “Dude.” He then addressed Mythri Movie Makers, the film’s producers:

“If Naveen sir or Ravi sir think of making Deepika Padukone my heroine in the next film and putting on a duet, I am ready to do it.”

The actor, who plays a politician named Athiyamaan Azhagappan in Dude, humorously pointed out that he has experience acting opposite major stars: “I have even played Aishwarya Rai’s husband in Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan films. Don’t feel jealous about it.”

He added that he was only asking on an occasion of success like this and encouraged the producers to think about casting either Deepika or another equally beautiful person as his heroine, even suggesting they consult Sai Abhyankkar and Pradeep Ranganathan for the song.

Previous Interest

This is not the first time Sarathkumar has expressed interest in working with Deepika Padukone. In a 2023 interview with Sun Music, when asked who he would choose as his co-star for a love story, he immediately named Deepika Padukone, asserting that if he can play a man taking revenge, he can certainly play a man in love at any age.

About Dude

Dude is a rom-com directed by Keerthiswaran, with Pradeep Ranganathan and Mamitha Baiju as the leads. Sarathkumar plays Kural’s father and Agan’s maternal uncle, Athiyamaan Azhagappan, a character key to the film’s main conflict.