Two-time National Award-winning Tamil actor Dhanush's first big theatrical release of 2023, Vaathi, is set to open in cinemas starting February 17, and the early buzz for the family entertainer is massive among fans. Produced by Naga Vamsi's Sithara Entertainments banner in association with Sai Soujanya's Fortune Four Cinemas and being presented by Srikara Studios, the upcoming film has been directed by hit Telugu filmmaker Venky Atluri, who recently sat down for an exclusive interview with Galatta to share his experience working alongside Dhanush, while also opening up about how the leading Tamil actor's role and character in the film were conceived.

Upon being queried about how Dhanush's look was a step away from his previous roles in films like Pudhupettai and Asuran, Venky Atluri said, "That was a conscious decision by sir (Dhanush) and myself. He plays a teacher. Usually, there's a notion that teachers wear spectacles. We didn't want that kind of a thing. The first step was toremove the pair of glasses for his look." The Telugu filmmaker, who is known for films like Tholi Prema and Rang De fame, further stated, He's a playful Vaathi. When we were doing our higher secondary, we'll have that one connection with one particular sir, who's naughty, yet he knows how to teach his pupils. We wanted to show him like that favorite Vaathi, who doesn't bombard his students with classes. He should be a fun-loving anna (elder brother) and is a mathematics teacher."

There are a lot of expectations for Vaathi and the action-packed trailer released earlier this week has added to the excitement. The film is a bilingual coming out also in Telugu under the title Sir and features music by G. V. Prakash Kumar after his previous collaborations with Dhanush in Polladhavan, Aadukalam, Mayakkam Enna, Asuran, and Maaran. Being distributed in Tamil Nadu by Lalit Kumar's 7 Screen Studio banner, Vaathi also stars youth Malayalam sensation Samyuktha alongside a supporting cast that includes Samuthirakani, Sai Kumar, Tanikella Bharani, Thotapalli Madhu, Narra Srinivas, Pammi Sai, Hyper Aadhi, Shara, Aadukalam Naren, Ilavarasu, Motta Rajendran, Hareesh Peradi, and Praveena.

Watch Venky Atluri talk about Dhanush's role in Vaathi in the video below: