After the riotous success of his Telugu film Arjun Reddy (2017), Vijay Deverakonda became a national phenomenon. Today, he enjoys a massive fan following in every nook and corner of India. After establishing himself as one of the most sought-after actors in Telugu cinema, Deverakonda is now gearing up to set his foot in Bollywood.
The actor begins his Bollywood inning with filmmaker Puri Jagannadh’s upcoming bilingual film Fighter. Well-known filmmaker Karan Johar is bankrolling the Hindi version of the film under his production house, Dharma Productions.
The latest update on the much-awaited project is that Ananya Panday, who made her acting debut with Student of the Year 2 (2019), has been locked to play the female lead in the bilingual film. Janhvi Kapoor was also in the race to bag the part, but it eventually went to Ananya.
“Puri Jagannadh is directing the film and Vijay plays the lead in Fighter. The film goes on floors in Mumbai from today. A lot of the portions of the movie will be shot in the city. The team was looking for a younger generation actress to be cast opposite Vijay in the actioner. Apparently, Karan Johar plans to present the film's Hindi version,” a source close to the development informs an entertainment portal.
Meanwhile, Ananya Panday is working on her next film Khali Peeli, co-starring Ishaan Khatter. She will then be seen in Dharma Productions’ untitled film by director Shakun Batra. It also features Deepika Padukone and Siddhant Chaturvedi in lead roles. Rumours are also rife in the tinsel town of Bollywood that she will star alongside Saif Ali Khan in a father-daughter relationship story to be helmed by Rahul Dholakia. An official announcement confirming the development is awaited though.
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A still from Suman Indori