Rashmika Mandanna, who is fondly called a 'national crush', rose to nationwide fame post the huge success of Pushpa: The Rise opposite Allu Arjun. 

The film was released last year and performed better than Akshay Kumar's Sooryavanshi and Spider-Man: No Way Home to become the biggest hit of 2021. Ever since its success, the actress has been getting several big offers. 

As per the latest buzz, the actress has signed a Bollywood biggie opposite Ranbir Kapoor. Reportedly, Rashmika has come on board Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Animal. 

For the uninitiated, Parineeti Chopra was confirmed to team up with Ranbir for the much-awaited film. However, due to date issues, the Ishaqzaade actress opted out of Animal to be a part of Imtiaz Ali's next, Chamkila, a biopic of Indian singer Amar Singh Chamkila.

Post her exit, the makers have now signed Rashmika as the female lead.

Revealing the same, a source informed Pinkvilla, "Bhushan Kumar and Sandeep Reddy Vanga felt that Rashmika fits the bill to the T. They wanted a fresh cast, rather than repeating the pairing of RK with another actress. The duo feels that both RK and Rashmika will set the screen on fire with their chemistry in Animal. The two share an interesting dynamic in the film".

According to the source, the South sensation will be seen portraying Ranbir's wife in Animal. But, the makers and the actress are yet to react to the development and an official announcement is still awaited.  

Post the success of Shahid Kapoor and Kiara Advani's Kabir Singh, Animal marks Vanga's second Bollywood directorial venture. The upcoming film is said to be a gangster drama, also starring Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol, and Tripti Dimri. 

Reportedly, the film will revolve around turbulent relationships between all the important characters and how they affect the protagonist (Ranbir) to become an animal in true nature. 

Coming back to Rashmika, she is set to make her Bollywood debut with Mission Majnu alongside Sidharth Malhotra and also has Goodbye co-starring Amitabh Bachchan in her kitty. 

View the full article