The first look teaser of the Tollywood megastar Chiranjeevi's Acharya, directed by Koratala Siva, was released on 22nd August, on the eve of the actor's birthday.
Recently, writer Rajesh Mandoori alleged that he had narrated the story to the production house Mythri Movie Makers a few years ago. With Koratala Siva being a close associate of the producers, there is a possibility that his story could have been used for Acharya, he reportedly alleged.
Reacting to the allegation, the makers have opened up now, stating that the plagiarism levelled against the movie is a ‘gimmick’. The production house has issued an official statement refuting the same. In the statement, they said, "When we have the reputation of introducing three new directors in the last one year, what would have stopped us from introducing new face Rajesh to the audience.” It added that the writer's intention is to tarnish the banner's image as well as director Koratala Siva's image.
Acharya marks the maiden collaboration of Chiranjeevi and Koratala Siva, best known for helming films such as Mirchi, Srimanthudu, Bharat Ane Nenu and Janatha Garage. We hear that the script is being drawn up keeping in mind the star’s image. The film originally was supposed to mark Trisha’s return to Telugu filmdom after many years. However, she opted out of the project due to creative differences. Kajal Aggarwal was brought in as a replacement for Trisha. However, recent reports indicate that even she has opted out of the project to keep herself available for her Hindi project with John Abraham.
On the progress of Acharya, we hear that a major action block and a song sequence have been filmed so far and the filmmakers are happy with the outcome.
Speculations are rife that Chiru’s son and actor Ram Charan Teja may be playing a cameo in this film, but the reports remain unconfirmed. Some reports suggested earlier that the filmmakers were keen on approaching Mahesh Babu for the role if Ram Charan is unavailable. Chiranjeevi had recently rubbished reports stating that Mahesh Babu was approached for a role in Acharya. IB Times quoted Chiranjeevi, "I wonder how Mahesh's name popped out in this. I mean Mahesh respects me a lot. I like him too. He is like my son. But he was never considered for that role."
The film is being bankrolled jointly by Ram Charan under his banner Konidela Production Company in association with Niranjan Reddy’s Matinee Entertainment. Mani Sharma is composing the tunes for this venture with Tirru cranking the camera and Naveen Nooli doing the edits.
Meanwhile, Chiru had recently confirmed that he will star in the Telugu remake of Malayalam blockbuster Lucifer which will be directed by Saaho fame Sujeeth; the latest update is that Chiranjeevi is stalling the project for a while to shoot Telugu remake of Ajith’s Vedalam first. As per the latest development, Meher Ramesh has been roped in to direct the Vedalam remake with Chiranjeevi in the lead. An official announcement about the project can be expected to be made soon.
(Content provided by Digital Native)