Aditi Rao Hydari replaces Samantha Akkineni

Aditi Rao Hydari is going places! Just recently she was in Chennai, shooting for Mani Ratnam’s latest Tamil work with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Vikram. She is now heading to Hyderabad to shoot for a new Telugu film, as a last-minute replacement for Samantha Akkineni, who is considered the topmost Telugu female actor.

It seems strange that Aditi, who has no box office success in Telugu cinema, should be considered a replacement for Samantha.

But here’s the thing —Samantha was all set to star in Ajay Bhupathi’s Maha Samudram with Sharwanand. But now Sharwanand has given a massive flop, Jaanu, with Samantha.

Says a source close to the development: “The project was to star Samantha and her husband Naga Chaitanya. Chay opted out and Ravi Teja was roped in. Then Ravi Teja delivered a thundering flop — Disco Raja. He was replaced by Sharwanand. Soon after came Jaanu. So now it’s Aditi Rao, with Samantha’s blessings, opposite Sharwanand in Maha Samudram.”