Telugu hit "Arundhati" is all set to be remade into Hindi and the makers wanted to cast Anushka Sharma in the title role. But the "Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi" heroine couldn't be finalised for it because of some misconceptions."They needed someone strong, robust, young and determined and very north Indian as the lead in Hindi. They really wanted Anushka Sharma. She was perfect. But the producer was under the impression that she's under contract with Yash Raj Films and unable to do any outside film," said a source close to the film.
"Now they might settle for the actress who played the lead in the Telugu 'Arundhati' in Hindi. Coincidentally, her name too is Anushka," the source added.
Many producers, including Madhu Mantena, who produced "Ghajini", were vying for the Hindi remake rights. But Telugu producer M. Shyam Prasad Reddy is finally making it in Hindi.
Sonu Sood, who played the main antagonist in the Telugu version and is set to encore the same part in Hindi, confirms these developments.
"I'm excited because we all worked very hard on making the Telugu original something special. Lots of producers wanted to remake it in Hindi. But now the original producer has decided to go for it. The Hindi 'Arundhati' will be far more expensive and polished. We start shooting in June," said Sonu whose last Hindi relase was "Ek Vivaah... Aisa Bhi".
Sood has already started preparing for the part and said: "The Hindi version will have to be severely revised."
Priyadarshan was approached to direct "Arundhati" in Hindi but apparently he wasn't ready to accept the offer at such short notice.
"And the original director Kodi Ramkrishna can't understand Hindi. So we're probably going with a guy named Rahul who did all the special effects in Tamil," said Sonu.
Arjan Bajwa of "Fashion" fame, who played the romantic lead in "Arundhati", is not part of the Hindi remake.
Said Arjan: "They haven't asked me. Even if they had, I wouldn't do it. Have you seen what has been done to my role in the Telugu film?"