For Jason Sanjay, the journey of his directorial debut Sigma included a lengthy conversation with one of South cinema’s most sought-after actors, who was among the filmmaker’s earliest choices for the project. Although that collaboration did not materialise, the meeting appears to have left Jason with something he valued just as much: feedback on his first film.

Jason recently looked back at that meeting while promoting Sigma, recalling how he had approached Dulquer Salmaan when the actor was in Chennai. He said he was initially unsure whether Dulquer knew him or whether he would have dates available for the project, but decided to narrate the story to him anyway. The two ended up discussing the film for almost two hours.

According to Jason, Dulquer was interested in the project and responded positively to the narration, but his packed schedule meant he could not allot dates for Sigma. “I really like his films and admire his choice of scripts,” Jason said, adding that Dulquer gave him “a lot of valuable feedback” after their lengthy conversation. Jason also said he was confident that the two would work together in the future.

Interestingly, Dulquer did not completely disappear from the Sigma journey after turning down the acting opportunity. At the film’s trailer and audio launch, Jason thanked him for launching the film’s first single, placing the actor among the people who supported the project despite not being part of its cast.

The eventual choice of Sundeep Kishan also appears to have given Jason a lead actor who became closely involved with his first film. During the Sigma event, Jason described Sundeep as a special, brother-like figure and praised his willingness to experiment with different kinds of films. The project pairs him with Faria Abdullah, with Sampath Raj, Raju Sundaram, Shiv Panditt and others also part of the cast.

Sigma, backed by Lyca Productions and featuring music by Thaman S, is billed as an action-adventure heist comedy. The film is scheduled to hit theatres on October 2.