Ananya Panday to star opposite Vijay Deverakonda in his Hindi debut film: report

Actor Ananya Panday is all set to star opposite Telugu sensation Vijay Deverakonda in his Hindi debut film, according to a report in Mumbai Mirror. The film is a Karan Johar production.

The film, reportedly, went on floors in January, mixed martial arts-heavy action film, will be directed by Puri Jaganadh. Quoting a source, the report said that the makers wanted a young face. “Ananya is eager to work with Vijay and is expected to start shooting mid-March or in the first week of April.”

This is the third film that Ananya is doing with Karan Johar. After making her debut in Student of the Year 2, she also bagged a Shakun Batra directorial that will also feature Deepika Padukone and Siddhant Chaturvedi. Ananya is currently shooting for Khaali Peeli, which also stars Ishaan Khatter. The film is also a remake of a Telugu film, Taxiwaala. Incidentally, Taxiwaala also starred Vijay Deverakonda. The young Telugu actor hit national limelight after starring in the controversial Arjun Reddy. The film’s Hindi remake, Kabir Singh starring Shahid Kapoor, was equally controversial.

Also read | Bigg Boss 13: Samir Soni bats for Arti, believes it would be wrong if Sidharth Shukla wins, Archana Puran says ‘That Sid is a jerk’

In early January this year, Ananya had shared a new still from the film, which features Ishaan and her. Sharing it, she had written, “Driving into 2020 #KhaaliPeeli.” The picture showed them inside a taxi (what else!) -- while Ishaan has a relaxed expression on his face and is sporting a khaki-coloured shirt, worn by Mumbai taxi drivers, Ananya has a worried expression on her face. She wears mehendi on her hands. In August last year, another still from the film was unveiled which showed Ananya and Ishaan posing by a taxi.

Vijay Deverakonda, who saw the launch of his upcoming Telugu film World Famous Lover, reportedly said the said film would be his last love story. He said, “I’m aware there would be a lot of excitement among everyone about my film. We’ve invested lot of efforts in World Famous Lover. But I would like to maintain a low profile about this project. World Famous Lover will be my last love story. I can see myself changing and I am entering a new phase in my career.”

Follow @htshowbiz for more