Rajamouli's Next Film Stars Mahesh Babu

No more costume dramas for S S Rajamouli, at least for now.

Six years and three lavish period films (Baahubali Part 1 and 2, RRR) later, the director is stepping into contemporary times with Mahesh Babu.

A source tells Subhash K Jha that Rajamouli was keen to do a costume drama with Mahesh Babu, as the actor has not attempted that genre before.

But the superstar demurred, saying his fans would not like to see him in a costume drama.

Besides, Mahesh felt that Rajamouli's audience wants a change too.

Rajamouli's next will be shot in several European countries and will feature Mahesh as a man on a mission.

The untitled film will commence shooting in 2023.

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NTR Jr's next project is stuck

If all had gone well, NTR Jr's next project -- directed by Koratala Siva -- would have gone on the floors a few months ago.

But here's the thing: Koratala, a reputed film-maker with hits like Janatha Garage and Bharat Ane Nenu under his belt, finds himself rather strapped after the debacle of his latest film, Acharya.

The ambitious Acharya -- which brought together the father-son pair of Chiranjeevi and Ram Charan -- was expected to be a blockbuster. Instead, it turned out to be a shocking box office fiasco.

"Until Koratala clears all the arrears related to Acharya, he won't start his film with NTR Jr," a source from Hyderabad informs Subhash.

Meanwhile, the Telugu script for the NTR film is being modified to make it a pan-India project.

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Brahmastra sequel to start by year-end

With Ayan Mukerji's Brahmastra proving to be a hit, the sequel -- Brahmastra Part Two: Dev -- will take off by the end of 2022 or the beginning of 2023.

"Ayan has more or less written the script for the entire trilogy before he started shooting Part 1," an informed source reveals to Subhash. "Now, he needs to fine-tune Part 2, make it more racy and perhaps accentuate the plot points which have been liked in the first part."

"(Producer) Karan Johar and his co-producers are keen to kickoff Part 2 sooner rather than later. Ayan wants to take a break before getting into Part 2, but it looks like he won't be allowed any respite."