Aishwarya Rajinikanth is set to return to the director’s chair, seven years after her last directorial, the Tamil film Vai Raja Vai (2015). She will be helming a film, titled Oh Saathi Chal, which also marks her Bollywood debut. Sharing what kept her away for so long, the 40-year-old says, “I took a break as I wanted to spend more time with my sons — Yatra Raja (15) and Linga Raja (11) — who were growing up way too fast.”

Aishwarya says that several offers to direct Hindi films kept coming her way, but she wasn’t “in the mindset to work”. She adds, “It feels great to be back. Now my children are old enough and I seem to have more time in hand for myself.”

She says that she’d love to work with actors Hrithik Roshan and Ranveer Singh in the near future. But has she ever felt the urge to cast her father, superstar Rajinikanth, in her films? “I honestly haven’t given it a thought or worked towards it. I am enjoying and loving the experience of being his fanatic fan. But if an opportunity comes up, who in their right senses would say no to that?” she says with a laugh.

The 3 (2012) director finds the exchange of talent between Bollywood and the South film industry “healthy”. She adds, “Indian cinema has evolved organically and the audience has been a great reason for that. They have given filmmakers the freedom to think out-of-the-box, which, I strongly feel, is the way forward.”