Zaara Yesmin, the social media sensation, will be making her acting debut with Addhuri 2. The model-turned-artiste, known for her music videos, will be paired opposite Niranjan Sudhindra in Ramesh Venkatesh Babu’s directorial.

Previously, Zaara has been featured in the Punjabi number Ik Waar, alongside singers Falak Shabir and Guru Randhawa. She has also been a part of music videos of singers like Darshal Raval, Wadali Brothers, Preet Harpal, and Master Saleem. 

Apparently, the makers of Addhuri 2 screened around 350 artistes across Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra, and Kerala, before finalising Zaara for the tole. Sushma Kaul, the casting director who brought Priyanka Upendra and Sonia Agarwal to the Kannada film industry, is the one who zeroed in on Zaara. “Her height is one of the reasons for selecting her. The makers felt that she would be apt for the female lead,” a source says, on condition of anonymity.  An official announcement will be made once Zaara signs the dotted line.   

Addhuri 2 is produced by Shankar Reddy of CMR Productions in association with Mohan. The former was earlier associated with 2012's Addhuri, starring Dhruva Sarja and directed by AP Arjun.

The new film will feature Niranjan in three get-ups, and the actor, who is undergoing an image makeover, will apparently sport 8-pack abs. With music by Raghavendra V and cinematography by Yogi, Addhuri 2 will go on floors next month.

The production house is aiming to take the film to a pan-Indian audience, and so, Addhuri 2 will be dubbed and simultaneously released in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Hindi.