Simbu, who was last seen in the family entertainer vanthaa Rajavathaan Varuven directed by Sundar.C is now gearing up for his next, the political entertainer Maanadu directed by Venkat Prabhu, and the actor is currently on a strict fitness regime to sport a new look for the movie.

Now the latest update on this movie is that actress Kalyani Priyadarshan, who had recently been signed to play the female lead in Siva Karthikeyan - PS Mithran combo's Hero has been roped in to play the female lead in Maanadu as well. It must be noted that earlier Raashi Khanna was said to be pairing with Simbu in the movie.

Produced by Suresh Kamatchi, the movie is touted to be a hard hitting political thriller. and recently the producer himself had put an end to the speculations that the movie is shelved by clarifying that the movie is very much on and that the team will begin shooting soon.