Actor Jagapathi Babu, who made a transition from lead roles to villain roles, has been roped in to play a crucial role in director Ajay Bhupathi's upcoming film Maha Samudram. Starring Sharwanand, Siddharth, Anu Emmanuel and Aditi Rao Hydari, the film is touted to be an intense love story set against the backdrop of Visakhapatnam.

The film's shooting is currently underway in Vizag and the makers are filming important scenes on the lead cast. According to a source, Jagapathi Babu, who plays the baddie in the film, was supposed to join the team on Saturday. However, the actor has refused to travel to the port city owing to the sudden spike in COVID-19 cases.

Indiaglitz.com has learnt that Jagapathi Babu has expressed his concern to shoot amidst the pandemic and doesn't want to take any chance as the second wave of Covid-10 predominantly spreads through the air. The makers were taken aback by Jagapathi Babu's decision and have made some changes to the ongoing schedule.

A bilingual in Telugu and Tamil, Maha Samudram went on floors in December and the team has already wrapped up a schedule in Goa. Produced by Ramabrahmam Sunkara, Maha Samudram is slated to release on August 19. Music of the film is by Chaitan Bharadwaj.