On Thursday, the title of Dhanush's D55 was announced as Om. Director Rajkumar Perisamy was present at the title launch event, where a short glimpse was also unveiled. The glimpse features 20 Tamil woodcutters in a forest in Tiruvannamalai being arrested by the police, only for Dhanush to save them.
At the question and answer that followed the title launch, Rajkumar Perisamy was asked whether the Dhanush-starrer was taking a real-life incident and presenting it in the style of Allu Arjun's Pushpa films. For the unversed, the Pushpa films revolve around red sandalwood smuggling.
Director Rajkumar Periasamy clarified that while the film may draw inspiration from reality, it is not based on any one specific event. Responding to the comparison, Rajkumar said filmmakers often derive ideas and concepts from incidents they witness in everyday life, but what ultimately shapes the film is the screenplay and not the source event itself.
“I think almost all filmmakers get inspired by ideas and concepts from daily life—either events from their own lives or from the lives of people around them. What matters is what genre we choose to tell the story in,” he said.
The director added that cinema cannot simply recreate reality and depend on the incident alone. “If we just take a real incident and make a film, that alone doesn’t work. Screenplay is very important. Whether it’s fiction or reality, a screenplay is what transforms it and decides the final result,” he said.
Clarifying the comparison further, Rajkumar said Om is designed as a feature film and not as a documentary recreation of any one incident. “This screenplay comes from certain realities and events that have stayed with me for a long time. We have built on that with many more elements and extensive research. I cannot say the particular incident mentioned is directly present in the film. But as an inspiration, that thought has definitely existed,” he added.
Apart from Dhanush, Om also stars Sai Pallavi and Mammootty in important roles. Sreeleela, who made her Tamil debut with a role in Parasakthi (2026), is also part of the cast, as is Indrans.
Besides, Om brings Rajkumar Periasamy back together with Sai Pallavi after their collaboration on Amaran (2024), where the actor plays Major Mukund's wife, Indhu Rebecca Varghese. On the other hand, it marks Mammootty's return to Tamil cinema after 2018's Peranbu, as well as reuniting Dhanush with Sai Pallavi after Maari 2 (2018).
The film is produced by Dhanush himself under the Wunderbar Films banner and Shraddha Agrawal of R Take Studios. On the technical front, it has composer Sai Abhyankkar, cinematographer Ezhil Arasu, editor Kalaivanan, choreographer Sandy, and stunt director Yannick Ben.