'Mahesh 23': Rakul Preet Singh to team up with Mahesh Babu in AR Murugadoss' film

Rakul Preet Singh has reportedly bagged a biggie. The fast-growing actress has been signed to play the female lead in Mahesh Babu's next movie to be directed by ace filmmaker AR Murugadoss.

"It's official. #RakulPreetSingh teams up with #MaheshBabu in #Mahesh23. An @ARMurugadoss directorial. [sic]," journalist Haricharan Pudipeddi confirmed the news on Twitter. It has to be noted that this is her first movie with the Telugu superstar.

Earlier, Parineeti Chopra was signed to play the female lead in the movie, which is presently being referred to as "Mahesh 23." The Bollywood actress had given consent to work alongside Mahesh Babu, but backed out of the film for reasons best known to her.

The makers, without any delay, roped in Rakul Preet Singh, who is currently working in a few films, including Ram Charan Teja and Aravind Swamy's "Dhruva."

"Mahesh 23" will hit floors on July 15 and the regular shooting will begin by the end of this month. The film will be simultaneously shot in Tamil and Telugu. This project also marks the debut of Mahesh Babu in Kollywood.

Santhosh Sivan is the cinematographer and Harris Jayaraj is the music director of the bilingual project. The complete cast and crew is expected to be revealed at the muhurat of the film, which will reportedly happen in Hyderabad.

On the other hand, Harris Jayaraj has started working on the music and two songs are already ready.