Veteran director Bharathiraja to play Simbu's villain in Venkat Prabhu's Maanadu?

With Venkat Prabhu's political film, Maanadu, starring Simbu, all set to go on floors next month, reports are rife that director Bharathiraja has been approached to play the principal antagonist in the film. Interestingly, Bharathiraja had made an acting comeback after several years in Mani Ratnam's 2004 political thriller, Aayutha Ezhuthu, which featured the filmmaker as a wily, senior politician, who resents change.

Earlier, there were rumours that Gangai Amaren will be playing the villain in Maanadu, which were later denied by the director. Maanadu, produced by Suresh Kamatchi, was supposed to go on floors in April, but was delayed twice. A source close to the unit attributes the delay in starting the shoot to STR's visit to the UK, which the actor was very particular about, to get into shape for the role.

Venkat Prabhu had earlier revealed on Twitter that Kalyani Priyadarshan, daughter of famed director Priyadarshan, will be playing the female lead in Maanadu. This is the first time that STR and Venkat Prabhu are collaborating on a film. While the filmmaker is currently involved in the post-production of Party, Simbu is shooting for his extended-cameo in Hansika's 50th film, Maha, in Goa.