Vijay Deverakonda and Mrunal Thakur will act together in Geetha Govindam director Parasuram Petla’s next. The yet-to-be-titled film was officially launched on Wednesday, June 14, and shooting is expected to begin soon. The film is being produced under Sri Venkateswara Creations, the production banner of Tollywood producer ‘Dil’ Raju. The film will have music composed by Gopi Sundar, similar to Parasuram and Vijay Deverakonda’s previous collaboration, the 2018 film Geetha Govindam. KU Mohanan will be the film’s cinematographer, the announcement said.
While Geetha Govindam was criticised for its problematic portrayal of the relationship between the lead characters played by Vijay Deverakonda and Rashmika Mandanna, it was a huge commercial success and cemented Deverakonda’s status as a star after Arjun Reddy. While the actor has since starred in several films including Dear Comrade, World Famous Lover, and recently Liger, these films have received lukewarm to poor responses from audiences and critics.
His next film to release will be Kushi, a romantic comedy co-starring Samantha and directed by Shiva Nirvana. The film will be released in four languages – Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam – on September 1, 2023.
Mrunal Thakur, who started working in films after a successful career in Hindi television shows, recently made her Telugu debut with the immensely successful Sita Ramam alongside Dulquer Salmaan. Mrunal will also be seen in Nani’s upcoming film, directed by debutant Shouryuv. The film is set to release on December 21 this year. Mrunal has also worked in the upcoming Netflix anthology Lust Stories 2.
Parasuram Petla’s last film Sarkaru Vaari Paata, starring Mahesh Babu and Keerthy Suresh, was also a commercial success. However, like Geetha Govindam, this film too was criticised for controversial scenes between the lead actors —- including one scene where Mahesh Babu slaps Keerthy. Another scene in which Mahesh Babu is seen lying down next to Keerthy and placing her leg on her was also heavily criticised by many viewers.