Samantha Akkineni will be seen in the Telugu remake of 96.Several photos of Samantha Akkineni shooting for the Telugu remake of Tamil hit 96 have surfaced online. The leaked pictures show the actor performing a scene with a microphone suggesting that filmmakers were shooting the school reunion scene, in which the female protagonist sings a song after being persuaded by her friends.
It is unclear whether or not director C. Premkumar will retain the original title for the remake as well. Bankrolled by hit producer Dil Raju, Premkumar is helming the project with Samantha and Sharwanand in the lead roles.
While Samantha Akkineni steps into the shoes of Trisha, Sharwanand will essay the character, originally played by Vijay Sethupathi.
Premkumar earlier said that barring a few minor changes to match the sensibilities of the Telugu audience, he intends to make a frame-to-frame remake of his Tamil hit. The cinematographer made his directorial debut last year with 96, which follows a travel photographer, who embraces loneliness over his lost love. The film became a huge hit and received both commercial and critical acclaim. It was also remade in Kannada as 99 by Preetham Gubbi with Ganesh and Bhavana in the lead roles. However, the film was not as successful as its Tamil original. It remains to be seen whether Premkumar will be able to recreate the magic for the second time with Telugu remake.
#Samantha from the sets of #Premkumar‘s Telugu remake of his Tamil hit #96Movie. pic.twitter.com/IQf1BOW34f
— Plumeria Movies (@plumeriamovies) July 22, 2019
Samantha Akkineni was last seen in Oh Baby, which was lauded by critics and the audience alike.
Sharwanand is waiting for the release of Ranarangam, which is written and directed by Sudheer Varma. The film is due in cinemas on August 15.
