Actor Jyothika recently returned to the Hindi film industry with Ajay Devgn, Madhavan-starrer Shaitaan. But even before saying yes to that, she said yes to Tushar Hiranandani’s Srikanth: Aa Raha Hai Sabki Aankhein Kholne, starring Rajkummar Rao. In an interview with News 18, Tushar credited Suriya for convincing her to play the role.

‘She initially said no’

Director Tushar revealed that he was a massive fan of Jyothika and reached out to her to play Srikanth Bolla’s teacher in the film. However, she turned down the role.

He stated that he watched many Tamil films starring Jyothika and thought she was a ‘great actor’. “She told me she wouldn’t be able to do it. The very next day, she called me up and told me otherwise. She told me Suriya had read the script and told her she couldn’t miss out on it. They both called me home, and she officially confirmed she’s doing my film,” said the director.

He also claimed that she first said yes to Srikanth before agreeing to do Shaitaan. “She wasn’t doing Hindi films for the longest time, ours was the first film she said yes to. She shot for Shaitaan later. Mukesh Chhabra had called me to talk to Jyothika and convince her to be a part of Shaitaan. I called her up and said, please do it, Vikas (Bahl) sir ka picture hai,” he added.

Jyothika’s Hindi comeback

Jyothika debuted in Hindi with the 1998 film Doli Saja Ke Rakhna, which also starred Akshaye Khanna. The following year, she ventured south with Ajith-starrer Vaali and has since acted in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam for most of her career.

She returned to Hindi with Shaitaan and will soon be seen in Srikanth, which will be released on May 10. The film will also star Sharad Kelkar and Alaya F in the lead roles. She has also shot for the Netflix web series Dabba Cartel, which is yet to release.

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