Earlier, it was reported that Tollywood actor-director Tanikella Bharani is all set to work on an experimental film starring Samantha Akkineni, Ramya Krishnan and Shriya Saran. The director has also reportedly roped in veteran filmmaker K Raghavendra Rao to play the lead role. The story is that of an old man who reminisces about his important life events after his retirement.
The latest report on the project is that Samantha Akkineni, who was reported to play an important role in the film, has now opted out of the project. According to sources, the actor had to decline the offer as she has a slew of projects that she has already made commitments to. Meanwhile, the makers are planning to rope in Tamannaah Bhatia to play Samantha’s role instead.
Recently Tamannaah Bhatia was part of a special episode of Samantha Akkineni’s talk show Sam Jam. Tamannaah took to Instagram to share her excitement for the same. Tamannaah, who is currently one of the busiest actors in Tollywood, currently has five films to complete, out of which four are Telugu. Her Bollywood film Bole Chudiyan, in which she shares the screen with Nawazuddin Siddiqui, is in post-production. She has also been roped in to reprise Tabu's role in the Telugu remake of Ayushmanm Khurrana's Andhadhun. She has completed filming for That Is Mahalakshmi, a comedy-drama which is a remake of Kangana Ranaut's hit Bollywood film Queen (2014). Prasanth Varma has directed this film.
Currently, Tamannah’s schedule includes filming for Seetimaarr, followed by romantic drama Gurthunda Seethakalam. Seetimaarr is a sports action-drama, in which Tamannaah stars opposite Gopichand, and is directed by Sampath Nandi. Sampath and Tamannaah are collaborating for the third time after Bengal Tiger and Racha. Gurthunda Seethakalam is directed by Nagashekar, which is a remake of Kannada hit film Love Mocktail. Tamannaah stars in the film opposite Brochevarevarura fame Satyadev.
On the other hand, Samantha Akkineni also has her hands full, along with her new talk show Sam Jam on OTT platform Aha. She also has Vignesh Shivan's Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal, starring Vijay Sethupathi and Nayanthara. Samantha also has the second season of the critically-acclaimed The Family Man on Amazon Prime Video, starring Manoj Bajpai.
Meanwhile, Shriya Saran, last seen on screen in NTR Kathanayakudu, has been roped in for a pivotal role in SS Rajamouli's upcoming magnum opus Roudram Ranam Rudhiram aka RRR. This will be Shriya’s reunion with Rajamouli after 15 years. She had previously worked with him in the 2005 Telugu action-drama Chatrapathi, which starred Prabhas in the lead. Shriya also has two Tamil films in her kitty which await release, Naragasooran and Sandakkari.
Tanikella Bharani’s new project will be Ramya Krishnan’s latest Tollywood outing, since her 2018 release Shailaja Reddy Alludu with Naga Chaitanya.