Yamaleela 2 in the offing?

Director SV Krishna Reddy, who had carved a niche for himself with family and comedy entertainers, we hear, is keen to take forward the sequel to ‘Yamaleela’ which holds the record of running for almost a year at RTC cross roads, Hyderabad. The maker, according to a source, has already roped in Mohan Babu to portray Yamudu

Released in 1994, ‘Yamaleela’, featuring Ali in the lead, was a runaway hit that catapulted writer/composer/director SV Krishna Reddy into the top league. Such was the box-office performance of the flick that it was later remade in Hindi as ‘Taqdeerwala’ with Venkatesh stepping into the shoes of Ali. The sequel to the cult musical was in the news for a long time, but looks like, it is indeed on the cards. Hans Talkies has learnt that director SV Krishna Reddy, whose past films bit the dust at the box-office, will take forward the sequel.

A source pointed out, “Krishna Reddy is keen to bounce back. With his last two films - ‘Masth’ and ‘Divorce Invitation’ – not doing any good to his reputation, he has decided to revive the sequel to his most appreciated film till date. It will be a new story altogether and the director has already roped in veteran Mohan Babu to essay the iconic role of Yamudu. A new actor might carry forward the role that was enacted by Ali while characters like Chitragupta and Thota Ramudu will be enacted by the original actors –Brahmanandam and Tanikella Bharani.”

Interestingly, this would be the second time that Mohan Babu would be playing the king of death, Yama. He was earlier seen in the powerful role in Rajamouli’s ‘Yamadonga’.

That’s not it. Krishna Reddy is tipped to produce the film on his own, the source said and added that it will go on floors early 2014. Well, it would be a comeback of sorts for the filmmaker who still enjoys a great fan base, particularly women.