Tollywood star Allu Arjun is away on a family vacation and will be returning to work right on time to begin the promos of his upcoming release Ala Vaikuntapuramlo, which is scheduled to hit the silver screens on January 12.

With this film’s release nearing, Allu Arjun is all geared to join the sets of his next with Sukumar. Touted to be a village drama, it will have the actor in a rugged avatar, say sources. Rashmika Mandanna has been roped in to play the female lead in this entertainer.

Ala Vaikuntapuramlo is directed by Trivikram Srinivas and bankrolled jointly by Allu Aravind and S Radha Krishna under the banners Geetha Arts and Haarika & Hassine Creations respectively. The film’s shooting is in progress and Pooja Hegde has been signed up to play Allu Arjun’s lead pair in it.

Veteran actor Jayaram has been roped in to play Allu Arjun’s father in it. Interestingly, another versatile actor Sathyaraj will be seen as the hero’s grandfather. The technical crew of this film includes S Thaman for music, PS Vinod for cinematography and Naveen Nooli for editing.

While this project is on hand, Allu Arjun is looking forward to ink a deal with a top director. Sources in the know say that the actor is keen on a film with a pan-Indian appeal and is in talks with some leading directors. If things move in the right pace, this new venture will start rolling in summer this year, we hear.

It may be noted here that Allu Arjun’s last film release was Naa Peru Surya, which did not fare too well at the box office last year. The star took a break soon after its release and waited for several months before deciding on his next project. Naa Peru Surya was an action drama written and directed by Vakkantham Vamsi who made his directorial debut with this flick.

(Content provided by Digital Native)