BANGALORE: Seems like M D Sridhar is unable to make up his mind about who should play the female lead in his upcoming Ganesh-starrer Buguri. Recently, a few actresses who were picked for the role have either been given an early exit or have opted out.
We hear the team has replaced Arundhati with a new actress, Richa Panai, now the third person selected for the role. An upset Arundhati says, "I came to Bangalore with enthusiasm and even shot for two days. Then I came back to Chennai to promote my Tamil film Netru Indru. I didn't hear from Buguri's team for a couple of days, and then someone in Chennai told me that I was not part of the project anymore. Later, a call from the director confirmed this.
"I was even paid an advance. Apparently, the actor of the film did not find me suitable for the role. In fact, I even overheard a few things when I was on the sets, but refrained from commenting. I am still an upcoming actress, so I can't fight it out. I am upset but this too will pass," says the Kannadiga who hopes to work in Sandalwood again,
Director Sridharsays that he hadn't intended on switching heroines. "I roped in Vedhika, who backed out saying that she could not accommodate the dates. I was happy to have Arundhati on board, but when we saw her on the sets, we felt that she couldn't match Ganesh. She looks taller than him through the camera. Ganesh has lost so much of weight for his other film Style King.
"They didn't make a good on-screen pair, so I had to replace her. I tried a lot to bring in a Kannada heroine, but that didn't happen. So we finalised a Mumbai girl Richa Panai. She is on the sets and shooting for the film, so no more changes. I did not have any intention to change any heroines for Buguri. But when things don't fall in place, we have to look for an immediate solution," he said.
Richa Panai is a model-turned-actress who began her silver screen career with Malayalam films and later went on to do Telugu flicks.