Nayanthara had a long break from Tamil cinema after her 2010 film Boss Engira Bhaskaran, co-starring Arya. Since then, she made a special appearance in a dance number in 2013's Ethir Neechal, starring Sivakarthikeyan. However, Nayanthara made her real comeback to Tamil cinema after her break in 2010 with 2013's Raja Rani. Directed by Atlee, the film tells a story of second chances and revolves around the characters played by Arya, Nazriya Nazim, Nayanthara, and Jai.
Recently, Arya spoke about having the so-called 'Lady Superstar' onboard for the film. Speaking to Club FM Kerala, Arya said that it is not right to say that he brought Nayanthara back to cinema. The actor also said that he and his Raja Rani team had difficulty finding a second heroine for the film. "Every character is important in the film. However, when we pitched the role to actors, we called it a "double heroine" subject," Arya said about Raja Rani.
However, some of the "very established" heroines to whom they pitched the role declined it as they had some insecurity because of the presence of another heroine in the film, the Sarpatta Parambarai star said.
Arya also revealed that what made it more difficult for them to find another heroine was the fact that Atlee was still a relatively new director. "We asked many actors to do the role, but they did not accept it, citing small reasons. Finally, I just took a chance with Nayanthara," the actor said. He added, "I told her, 'There is this film. It would be nice if you can do it. If you are planning to return to films, you please consider.' She said, 'I will let you know after hearing the story.' And once she heard the story, she really liked it. She said, 'Okay, I will do it.'"
