Genie starring Jayam Ravi in the lead is an upcoming fantasy multi-starrer, with AR Rahman for music. The movie is written and directed by debutant Bhuvanesh Arjunan (Arjunan Jr), and in a latest print interview, the filmmaker has revealed that Genie was originally written for Kamal Haasan. 

Arjunan Jr has said that he wanted to make a violence-free movie, so he picked magical realism. He calls Genie a fantasy film with a twist because of the 'grounded emotions' attached to the story.

Arjunan Jr also says that he tried reaching out to Kamal Haasan with Genie's script for three years but he never got to meet the Ulaganayagan, being a first-timer and all.  Before the 2020, Vels Film International was supposed to do a film with Kamal Haasan, and the banner's producer Ishari Ganesh had liked Genie's script.

However the Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic meant that everything came to a standstill, and Kamal Haasan in Genie failed from happening, according to Arjunan Jr. The Genie director was given a choice to do the film with Jayam Ravi after this, and Arjunan Jr says that he cannot imagine anyone else in the character now that he has shot the film with Jayam Ravi.