It’s now official that Richa Gangopadhyay has been roped in as the heroine of ‘Osthi’, the STR-starrer Tamil remake of Hindi blockbuster ‘Dabangg’. But we learn that she was not the first choice.

If sources are to be believed, Dharani, the director of ‘Osthi’, initially approached Sonakshi Sinha, who played the leading lady in the original version, to repeat her role in the Kollywood remake too.

“However, since Sonakshi has already signed on the dotted line for Kamal Haasan’s Viswaroopam allotting bulk dates, she was not in a position to accept Osthi offer,” add sources.

“Following this, Dharani opted for Richa. Since the director is familiar with Tollywood where he had wielded the megaphone for a couple of projects, he felt Richa as an apt choice to act opposite Simbu.”