Chiranjeevi suspends 'Acharya' shoot due to coronavirus threat

Tollywood actor Chiranjeevi recently suspended the shoot of his eagerly awaited 152nd movie, titled Acharya, in the wake of the coronavirus threat and urged everyone to stay safe. 'Megastar' requested other producers to follow suit as avoiding large gatherings can help in containing the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This is everyone’s responsibility. I request all the producers to postpone the shootings for another 10 to 15 days since shootings require manpower of 100 to 200 people. Avoiding large-scale gathering is important to contain the spread of coronavirus," he added.

Interestingly, Acharya is not the only movie to be affected by the current situation. The makers of Nani's V recently announced that the action-thriller will not be hitting the screens on Ugadi. Rana Daggubatti's Haathi Mere Saathi too is likely to move from the current date (April 2). Similarly, the Bollywood biggie Sooryavanshi and the Hollywood actioner F9 have been postponed due to the coronavirus crisis.

Coming back to Acharya, the film is being directed by Koratala Siva of Janatha Garage fame and marks his first major collaboration with the Khaidi No 150 hero. The film is touted to be a commercial entertainer with religious undertones. The film was supposed to feature Trisha as the leading lady but 'Jaanu' exited the project because of "creative differences". The buzz is that Kajal Aggarwal will be roped in as her replacement. This, however, is yet to be confirmed.

The magnum opus might have Ram Charan in a "special" role. The 'Mega Power Star' was supposed to be a part of Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy but his character was removed even before production got underway. It remains to be seen whether things play out differently this time around.

Acharya is likely to hit screens this year in multiple languages.

Read: 'F9', 'Sooryavanshi' and 'V': Movies postponed amidst COVID-19 pandemic