17 May 2022
Hyderabad

Remember Vinay Rai? The actor, who burst on to the Telugu scene with MS Raju’s directorial debut, Vaana, way back in 2008! Primarily a Tamil actor, Vinay got a new lease of life with Vishal’s 2017 release Detective, where he played a ruthless baddie. His recent release was Siva Karthikeyan-starrer Doctor, where his psychopathic turn as a child-trafficker working under the guise as the proprietor of a Goa-based resort, received plaudits. He is now set to stage a comeback to Telugu cinema with Praveen Sattaru’s next with Varun Tej, idlebrain has exclusively learnt. The untitled project was launched towards the end of March earlier this year.

A source close to the development tells us, “Praveen was very impressed with Vinay’s outings in both Detective and Doctor. He was on the lookout for a stylish villain for his next and his search ended with Vinay. It’s a tailor-made role for the actor. After listening to the story and his character trajectory, Vinay didn’t think twice to give his nod. He felt it’s the best script for him to win the love of the Telugu people again.”

The film, an action-thriller, will have the cameras rolling next month in London, continuing Sri Venkateswara Cine Chitra’s strong association with the Queen’s City after Nannaku Prematho, Tholi Prema, Mr. Majnu and Ninnila Ninnila. 80 percent of the film will be shot in London in a marathon schedule of over a month, while the remaining 20 percent will be filmed across Eastern Europe.

-NAGARAJ GOUD