Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s upcoming film, Karna, has been in the news ever since there was chatter about the filmmaker roping in Tamil actor Suriya in the titular role — marking his Hindi film debut. Now, we have learnt that Nayanthara, too, has been approached for the film.

A source tells us, “There were major discussions going on regarding the female star in the film. Earlier, Disha Patani (actor) was being considered, but that is surely not happening anymore.”

According to the insider, Mehra is hoping to get an ensemble cast of actors from across industries on board for the “big-scale project”.

“Rakeysh will also try to get Priyanka (Chopra Jonas, actor), but only if Nayanthara gives a nod. The aim is to make something stellar like Atlee’s Jawan, which includes stars from both the industries. So, it is going to be a star-studded cast. The film will be shot on a massive scale with a huge budget.”

Karna will be based on the character from Mahabharata — the son of Surya, the sun god, and princess Kunti. The shooting will start early next year. “The mythological period drama will go on floors in January 2024. It will be a multilingual, pan-India film, split into two parts,” the insider shares.