With director Sukumar stepping in to helm a new film with Allu Arjun, his project with Mahesh Babu has been halted. Citing creative differences as the reason, Mahesh has announced that he has withdrawn from the film.

The actor took to Twitter to break the news to his fans.

The actor-director duo had previously collaborated for psychological thriller 1-Nenokkadine and was supposed to team up for another project after Sukumar's Rangasthalam. “Of the two scripts narrated by Sukumar, Mahesh gave his nod to the film based on red sanders smuggling. However, he had some concerns over the script, and so the director rewrote the script. But nothing really worked out. So, Sukumar has moved on to his next film with Allu Arjun,” says a source 

Anil Ravipudi to direct Mahesh Babu 

Mahesh Babu will instead collaborate with director Anil Ravipudi for a commercial entertainer. To be bankrolled by Anil Sunkara and presented by Dil Raju, the project will start rolling this summer. "Mahesh was impressed with Ravipudi's style of writing and filmmaking. The actor thoroughly enjoyed watching the director's F2 and believes that Anil will balance the mainstream narration with the right mix of entertainment," says a source.  

The project will go on floors either in May or June and Anil is determined to complete it in four months, aiming for a 2020 Sankranthi release. 

Meanwhile, Mahesh is shooting for the last leg of his upcoming release Maharshi, directed by Vamshi Paidipally. The film is slated to hit the screens on April 5.