After making his debut with the Telugu movie Hanuman Junction (2001), filmmaker Mohan Raja went on to remake several successful Telugu movies into Tamil, beginning with Jayam starring his brother Ravi which also marked his acting debut. Now he is all set to work on another remake after 19 years. After recently opting out of the Tamil remake of Andhadhun, Raja has been signed to helm the Telugu remake of Malayalam blockbuster Lucifer starring Chiranjeevi. It’s worth mentioning that the Lucifer remake was originally planned to be made with Saaho director Sujeeth and later with Meher Ramesh. In a surprising update, Mohan Raja is said to have been officially signed to direct the project which is expected to go on the floor early next year.
Lucifer was directed by actor Prithviraj, making his debut as a filmmaker, with Mohanlal playing the lead. It was a political thriller, written by actor-writer Murali Gopy. Manju Warrier, Vivek Oberoi, Tovino Thomas and Indrajith also played important roles in the film.
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.
Meanwhile, Chiranjeevi will be next seen in upcoming Telugu film, Acharya, in which he’s rumoured to be playing dual roles. Koratala Siva is directing the film, which will hit the screens next year. 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. Acharya marks the first collaboration of Chiranjeevi and Koratala Siva, 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 cinema after many years. However, she opted out of the project due to creative differences. Kajal Aggarwal was brought in as a replacement for Trisha.
Chiranjeevi’s last film to release was Sye Raa, which was on the legendary freedom fighter and it turned out to be a huge hit.
(Content provided by Digital Native)