Talented Atul Kulkarni has replaced former teenage heartthrob Arvind Swamy in actor Ajith’s upcoming untitled film directed by Vishnuvardhan. The last time Ajith and Vishnuvardhan worked together, they created magic and broke many records at the box-office through their Billa in 2007. Visnhu couldn’t direct the sequel Billa-2 due to his prior commitments in Telugu and the mantle fell on Toleti.
Though Billa-2 has evoked mixed reactions from Ajith’s fans, its run has been good in its first week in theatres. Ajith had started shooting for the untitled film even before the release of Billa-2. The film has Nayanthara as Ajith’s heroine. Readers might recall that Ajith and Nayanthara have already starred together in films such as Billa and the forgettable Aegan.
Vishnu’s second film with Ajith also has Aarya and Tapasee as the other pair in the film. Of late, Ajith appears to be doing increasing number of films with other heroes and also ensures that screen-space is equally divided between him and the other hero, as was the case with ‘action king’ Arjun in Mankatha.
Arvind Swamy, who was the heartthrob of millions of girls in the early nineties, was to make a comeback with the Ajith-starrer and was slated to play a significant role in the film. However, the fee quoted by Arvind was way beyond what the producer had fixed for him. As Swamy didn’t relent, the producer has reportedly replaced him with Atul Kulkarni.
It is also said that the producer, who refused to pay a fee of Rs.2 crores to Arvind, has reportedly paid only Rs.20 lakhs to Atul for his role in the film!