After teasing fans since Saturday, the filmmakers of
Nag Ashwin’s
#Prabhas21
finally announced that
Deepika Padukone will be making her debut in Telugu as
Prabhas’ co-star in the pan-Indian project.
“Deepika Padukone, welcome on board! Thrilled to have you be a part of this incredible adventure. #Prabhas21 #DeepikaPrabhas. @actorprabhas @deepikapadukone @nag_ashwin @swapnaduttchalasani @priyankacdutt,” (sic) they wrote. Not just fans of the stars, but even Tollywood celebs have been sharing the news on social media, happy about the announcement.
Calling Deepika Padukone a queen fit for the king, aka Prabhas, director Nag Ashwin seemed on cloud-nine as he wrote, “King ki saripadentha Queen kavali kada mari...chaala alochinchi teesukunna decision idi...pichekkicheddam..#Prabhas21 #DeepikaPadukone #PrabhasNagAshwin #DeepikaPrabhas.” (sic) Talking about casting her for the role, he says, "I'm very excited that Deepika is on-board for this character. It's something no mainstream lead has done before and will be quite a surprise for everyone. The pairing of Deepika and Prabhas is one of the highlights of our film. The story is something I believe the audiences will carry in their hearts for years to come."
Prabhas also seemed happy as he welcomed her on-board and wrote, “We are very excited to have @deepikapadukone on board, welcome. @nag_ashwin @vyjayanthimovies @swapnaduttchalasani @priyankacdutt #Prabhas21 #DeepikaPrabhas.” (sic)
Deepika announced that she’s ‘beyond thrilled’ to have been brought on-board for the project. Stating that she can’t wait for the shoot to begin, she wrote, “Beyond Thrilled!Cannot wait for what we believe is going to be an incredible journey ahead...#DeepikaPrabhas @nagashwin7 @VyjayanthiFilms #Prabhas.” (sic)
On Sunday morning, Vyjayanthi Movies took to social media to make the announcement that they have Deepika Padukone on-board for the film. While many fans predicted this when the Bajirao Mastani actress had recommended her fans watch
Mahanati
, they were still happy about the announcement. Talking of how the production house has worked with some extraordinary women in the past, they wrote of how they were privileged to have her on-board for this one. #Prabhas21’s genre still remains a mystery, with speculations of it being a
sci-fi
, fantasy or historical fiction doing rounds. The film will release not just in Telugu, but also Hindi and other South-Indian languages.
Prabhas is currently busy with
Radhe Shyam
, shoot for which was in progress when the pandemic hit. The star was supposed to wrap up shoot for that film and join shoot of #Prabhas21 by August. However given the current circumstances, shoot is expected to resume next year, with the film slated for release after. Deepika Padukone was last seen in Chhapaak and is known for picking roles that give her scope to perform. Nag Ashwin’s films so far – Yevade Subramanyam and Mahanati – have been massive hits so expectations are high on this one. Further details are awaited.