22 July 2024
Hyderabad

Looks like Varun Tej has amped up his pace. Presently occupied with Karuna Kumar’s period drama Matka, where he is playing a challenging role, the lanky actor has recently green-lit Touch Chesi Chudu director Vikram Sirikonda’s AI-based love story, which Mythri Movie Makers will be producing.

That’s not it. He has also agreed to headline Express Raja fame Merlapaka Gandhi’s next. Our sources tell us exclusively that Gandhi’s film will be a joint production venture between Krish and Rajeev Reddy’s First Frame Entertainments and UV Creations. This will be their second collaboration after Anushka-starrer Gaathi, which is right now on sets in Hyderabad.

A source close to the development says, “Gandhi’s film will be first off the blocks. The makers are looking to start it in the third or fourth week of September and wrap it up by January-end next year. The meticulous planner that Rajeev is, things should go according to plan unless some issue crops up which delays production. Varun will be juggling between the sets of this film with that of Sirikonda’s film. The casting process of this film has been initiated and in another two weeks, the heroine and the supporting cast should fall in place.”

The source adds that Gandhi’s film is a full-length entertainer typical of his trope. “More than 50 percent of the film will be shot abroad, while the remaining portions will be shot in Hyderabad and in some villages in Andhra Pradesh,” the source concludes.

-NAGARAJ GOUD