Rashmika Mandanna to star opposite Ranbir Kapoor in 'Animal'

It was recently confirmed that Parineeti Chopra will no longer be a part of the Sandeep Reddy Vanga directed Animal, which also stars Ranbir Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, and Bobby Deol. Since then, there has been speculation about the actress who has joined the cast in place of Parineeti. As per Pinkvilla, Rashmika Mandanna has been signed on to play the female lead in Animal. 

"Bhushan Kumar and Sandeep Reddy Vanga agreed that Rashmika was the perfect fit. They preferred a new cast rather than repeating RK's pairing with another actress. The duo believes that RK and Rashmika's chemistry in Animal will light up the screen. The two have an interesting dynamic in the film," siuggested the report, adding that Rashmika will play Ranbir's wife in the film. 

The shoot for this much-anticipated drama is expected to begin this summer, after Ranbir finishes the untitled Luv Ranjan rom-com. Bhushan Kumar's production company, T Series, is in charge of the film's production. Ranbir Kapoor will appear on the big screen at regular intervals in the coming years. He will be back with Shamshera in July, followed by the ambitious Brahmastra in September. The actor begins 2023 by returning to the rom-com genre with Luv Ranjan's yet-untitled film on Holi, followed by Animal in the second half of the year. 

On the other hand, Rashmika will make her Bollywood debut with Mission Majnu, co-starring Sidharth Malhotra, followed up with the Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Goodbye. She is also in talks with Dharma for a film and is working on the magnum opus Pushpa 2 with Allu Arjun. Animal is said to be set in India's gun mafia, with Ranbir belonging to a gangster family led by his father, Anil Kapoor. For the time being, the character sketch of Bobby Deol has been kept under wraps.