The Girlfriend begins shooting 

Four years after the release of Manmadhudu 2 (2019), Rahul Ravindran returns to the directing chair with his third film The Girlfriend. After the film was announced with a concept video and a muhurtham pooja, the makers of the film announced that they began filming on Tuesday. A montage of the film’s first day of shoot was released by the film’s makers a day later. Rashmika Mandanna, fresh off the success of Animal, is seen entering the sets in the montage. After interacting with veteran producer Allu Aravind, she is seen shooting for a scene. Dressed in casual Indian wear, Rahul is seen directing Rashmika in a scene set atop a staircase. 

Featuring Rashmika in a titular role, The Girlfriend is about a woman in a toxic relationship. The Girlfriend is produced by Sreenivasa Kumar Naidu, Vidya Kopineedi and Dheeraj Mogileni. Allu Aravind is presenting the film under the GA2 banner. Krishnan Vasant is the film’s cinematographer. Kochi-based composer Hesham Abdul Wahab, who has made steady inroads into the Telugu film industry in 2023 with his work in Kushi, SPARK Life and Hi Nanna, has been roped as the music composer of The Girlfriend. Hesham is also working on Sharwanand’s upcoming film directed by Sriram Adittya. 

Apart from The Girlfriend, Rashmika Mandanna has Pushpa: The Rule, Rainbow and Sekhar Kammula’s untitled next with Dhanush and Nagarjuna in her line-up. On the acting front, Rahul Ravindran is making his Hindi debut with Vasan Bala’s Jigra.