Filmmaker Mohan Raja is all set to return to Telugu filmdom nearly after two decades with an upcoming yet-untitled remake of Malayalam blockbuster Lucifer, starring Chiranjeevi. Mohan Raja made the official announcement on Wednesday via a tweet.
He was thrilled to be teaming up with Chiranjeevi. The project will be jointly produced by NV Prasad and Konidela Productions. If everything goes as planned, the remake will go on floors from February. Meanwhile, Chiranjeevi will complete shooting the remainder portion of Acharya, which happens to be his next release. Acharya marks the first time collaboration of filmmaker Koratala Siva and Chiranjeevi.
Acharya, as per reports, will be about a middle-aged Naxalite-turned-social reformer who launches a fight against the Endowments Department over misappropriation and embezzlement of temple funds and donations. Koratala Siva is best known for helming films such as Mirchi, Srimanthudu, Bharat Ane Nenu and Janatha Garage. The film originally was supposed to mark Trisha’s return to Telugu filmdom after many years. However, she opted out of the project due to creative differences.
In March, Trisha took to Twitter to reveal why. She wrote: “Sometimes things turn out to be different from what was initially said and discussed. Due to creative differences, I have chosen not to be part of Chiranjeevi sir’s film. Wishing the team well. To my lovely Telugu audiences- hope to see you soon in an exciting project." Kajal Aggarwal was brought in as a replacement for Trisha.
Chiranjeevi also has the Telugu remake of Vedalam in his kitty. Meher Ramesh has been roped in to direct the Vedalam remake. Apparently, Chiranjeevi has put Lucifer remake on the backburner because he wasn’t too happy with the changes that were made to the script to suit Telugu sensibilities. Anil Sunkara’s AK Entertainments will bankroll the Vedalam remake.
It’s worth mentioning that the remake was initially planned to be made with Pawan Kalyan a couple of years ago. Eventually, Kalyan went on to star in the Telugu remake of Ajith’s Veeram. Sai Pallavi is most likely to be roped in to play Chiranjeevi’s sister in the Vedalam remake.
(Content provided by Digital Native)