Sukumar Calls Suhas 'Future Nani', Reveals His Intent To Cast Him In Pushpa With Allu Arjun

Team Pushpa 2 is currently inching towards its mid-August release. Ahead of the same, director Sukumar revealed how the role of Keshava in the film - now essayed by Jagadeesh Prathap Bandari - was initially envisioned with another actor. Sukumar also praised his big career strides, referring to him as the "future Nani".

Jagadeesh Prathap Bandari was not the first choice to play the role of Keshava

Sukumar recently marked his presence at the the pre-release event of Suhas' next Prasanna Vadanam. Taking to the stage at the event, the director shared how Suhas was supposed to have starred in Pushpa but the kind of career growth he was showing, stopped them from approaching the actor. Sukumar, as per a recent 123Telugu report shared, "We actually wanted to cast Suhas for Keshava’s role. He was our first choice for that character. By the time we decided to approach him, he was doing a film as a hero, and hence we thought it wouldn’t be good to ask him."

Sukumar further went on to reveal how Allu Arjun - whom he affably referred to as 'Bunny' - had been rather keen about having Suhas on board. Himself musing on Suhas' career so far, the director reflected how the actor's trajectory is shaping up to be like Nani. He added, "Bunny admires him a lot. His career graph is developing just like Nani’s. I am sure he will be the future Nani."

Has Pushpa 2 already crossed the ₹500 crore threshold?

As per media reports, the streaming rights for Pushpa 2: The Rule, have already been acquired by Netflix, for a mammoth sum of 275 crores. If true, this makes for the biggest OTT deal in the history of Telugu cinema, setting a precedent for the future. Not just this, previously, there were reports of the Allu Arjun starrer's Hindi distribution rights, being sold to AA Films, for ₹200 crores.

This, coupled with the film's Telugu distribution rights, has already taken the film past the coveted ₹500 crore mark, months before its release. Pushpa 2: The Rule, is set for a release on August 15.