MUMBAI: Actor Shruti Haasan is all set to headline in the BAFTA winner Philip John's directorial 'Chennai Story.'
Written and directed by Philip John, and co-written by Nimmi Harasgama, Chennai Story is an English film interspersed with Tamil and Welsh, exploring themes of love, self-expression, and acceptance.
In 'Chennai Story,' Shruti Haasan will play the character named Anu, who is a spirited private detective.
Shruti's addition to the cast brings a contemporary edge to this cross-cultural rom-com where she joins forces with British star Viveik Kalra alongside Kevin Hart, Vincent D'Onofrio, Jean Reno, Sam Worthington amongst others.
Expressing her excitement, Shruti said, "Hailing from Chennai, a story showing the diversity and uniqueness of Chennai is so special to me -- collaborating with Phil is something I'm so excited to experience, telling global and rooted stories through international collaboration is what making cinema is all about. I'm all up for Sunitha Tati's vision of taking a culturally rooted story to an international audience through Chennai Story."
"I'm thrilled to be teaming up with the incredibly talented Shruti, on an emotional roller coaster of a story set in Chennai and Cardiff - two vibrant and multicultural cities. With the support of BFI, this film brings a whole new collaboration to international film production, while also bringing a fresh, under-explored Wales and India to the big screen," said Philip John.
'Chennai Story', under pre-production currently, will start its principal photography soon in locations in Chennai and subsequently in Cardiff.
Meanwhile, Shruti never looked back since her 2009 debut in the Imran Khan-starrer 'Luck'. She made her Telugu debut with 'Anaganaga O Dheerudu' and her Tamil debut with '7aum Arivu'. She acted in several Hindi movies including 'Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji', 'D-Day', 'Ramaiya Vastavaiya', 'Tevar', 'Gabbar Is Back', among others.
Recently, she was seen in 'Salaar: Part 1-Ceasefire'. Helmed by 'KGF 2' director Prashanth Neel, 'Salaar: Part 1- Ceasefire' stars Prabhas, Prithviraj Sukumaran, and Shruti Haasan in the lead roles.