After playing Sita in Ramayana, which hits theatres on November 6, Sai Pallavi is set to explore a very different role in OM: Chapter 1 – Udhiram: The Blood Wood. The makers of the upcoming action thriller unveiled her character, Nithya Reddy, on Monday. She plays a CBI officer tasked with investigating the illegal red sandalwood trade. The first glimpse offers a look at her character’s past and the personal loss that drives her investigation, bringing her into the orbit of characters played by Dhanush and Mammootty.
Sai Pallavi’s first look as CBI officer Nithya Reddy
The promotional video describes Nithya as a mix of “honesty, smartness and experience in young blood”. However, her pursuit of criminals is not just another assignment. Her father, an Indian Forest Service officer from Naidupet in Andhra Pradesh’s Nellore district, was killed while on duty. His death gives Nithya a personal reason to go after those responsible for forest crimes and protect the environment her father fought to safeguard.
Nithya began her career as an Assistant Superintendent of Police in the Andhra Pradesh cadre before moving up to the rank of Additional Superintendent of Police in the CBI. She is later assigned to work with Interpol and takes charge of Operation OM, which leads her into the illegal red sandalwood trade. Her investigation brings her face to face with Dhanush’s character, a woodcutter caught up in the business. Mammootty’s role, meanwhile, remains under wraps.
Dhanush, Mammootty and Naseeruddin Shah feature in the film
Directed by Rajkumar Periasamy, OM: Chapter 1 stars Dhanush as a woodcutter, with Mammootty in a pivotal role. The cast also includes Sreeleela and Sanjay Swaroop. Naseeruddin Shah is part of the project too, marking his debut in Tamil cinema.
Dhanush is producing the film under his Wunderbar Films banner, alongside Shraddha Agrawal and Azmat Jagmag, with RTake Studios backing the project. The technical team includes composer Sai Abhyankkar, cinematographer Ezhil Arasu K and editor R. Kalaivanan. Yannick Ben and Kecha Khamphakdee are choreographing the action sequences.
Why Dhanush postponed OM: Chapter 1’s release
OM: Chapter 1 was initially scheduled to release on October 16 but will now arrive in theatres on November 20, 2026. The postponement was announced to avoid a box-office clash with Rajinikanth’s Jailer 2. The film will also steer clear of a clash with Suriya’s Scene, which was announced for Diwali.
In September 2026, Dhanush addressed the decision in a post on X (formerly Twitter), explaining why the team chose to move the release. He wrote, “In times like these, shifting the release of a film comes with its own set of challenges. Our superstar, Rajinikanth sir, the man whom we all have admired and worshipped over the years, has his film arriving on October 15, just a day before ours. Out of immense respect for him, we have decided to postpone the release of our film, OM, to a later date.”
He added, “At the same time, we will not be arriving for Diwali this year either, as Suriya sir’s film has already been announced for the same date. In all fairness, they announced their date first, and we strongly believe that big films should have a mutual understanding and respect each other’s decisions, keeping the larger welfare of the cinema and industry in mind.”
OM: Chapter 1 – Udhiram: The Blood Wood will release worldwide in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi on November 20.