Director Venky Atluri has revealed that Vishwanath & Sons was not the film he originally pitched to Suriya. The filmmaker had first approached the actor with a biopic, which Suriya loved — but rights issues surrounding the project forced a change in direction.

Venky told Galatta Plus that Suriya was also personally looking for a lighter film at that stage. "He told me it had been around 12 to 14 years since he had done a cute love story or a proper family entertainer. After films like the Singam series, Soorarai Pottru and Jai Bhim, he wanted to do something breezy. He also felt he had already done two biopics recently, so maybe it was a sign to move on," Venky recalled.

It was then that Venky pitched the basic idea of Vishwanath & Sons over a phone call — "a story about a 40-year-old and a 20-year-old." The concept led to a full narration in Chennai for producer Rajsekar Pandian, who was moved to tears by the 10th or 15th scene and immediately called Suriya to recommend the script. Suriya connected with it instantly, and the film went from narration in April to shoot by May or June.

"Everything happened very simply, but looking back, it still feels surprising," Venky said.

Vishwanath & Sons stars Suriya, Mamitha Baiju, Raveena Tandon and Radikaa Sarathkumar, with music by GV Prakash. The film releases on August 14