Preity Mukhundhan Passed On Dragon Before Anbil Avan, Says Director Ashwath Marimuthu

Preity Mukhundhan is having the kind of run most young actresses wait years for. Back to back films like Blast and Idhayam Murali have put her name in every casting conversation in the South. Her Telugu film Emo Emo Idi has locked October 30, 2026 as its release date, and her Tamil film Anbil Avan with Ashok Selvan reaches theatres this Friday.

At the pre-release event for Anbil Avan, director Ashwath Marimuthu opened up about a casting call that went the other way. He said he had first approached Preity for the female lead in his film Dragon. She turned the offer down, and the role eventually went to Kayadu Lohar.

Ashwath was quick to add that there was no bad blood over it. He said he met her again afterwards and told her that something bigger was coming her way. That project turned out to be Anbil Avan, a script he was drawn to because of how substantial her part is in it.

Preity liked what she read and signed on. Coming from the same director who had watched her walk away from an earlier offer, the second approach says plenty about how the industry currently views her.

Dragon is not the only big film she has let go. She earlier had to step away from Atlee's Allu Arjun project Raaka, with reports pointing to her packed schedule on Idhayam Murali as the reason she could not make the dates work.

Two major films missed in a short span would worry some actresses. In Preity's case it reads differently, because you only miss films of that size when several of them are chasing you at once. Anbil Avan arrives in theatres this Friday, and Emo Emo Idi follows in October.