Why Aparna Balamurali was chosen for Suriya's next

Tamil actor Suriya's upcoming project tentatively titled, 'Suriya 38' will see Malayalam actress Aparna Balamurali as the female lead.

Helmed by Sudha Kongara, the film's shoot was launched on Sunday with a pooja ceremony.

The movie is produced by Suriya’s 2D Entertainment, co-produced by Rajsekar Karpoorasundarapandian, in association with the BAFTA-winner Guneet Monga of Sikhya Entertainment.

The music for the film is scored by GV Prakash, cinematography by Niketh Bommireddy, production design by Jacki, editing by Satish Surya and costumes by Poornima Ramaswamy.

Suriya is currently awaiting the release of political drama 'NGK' which is scheduled to hit the screens on May 31, while his 'Kaappaan' is likely to release in August.

On the other hand, Aparna who was recently seen in Jeethu Joseph movie 'Mr and Ms Rowdy' is not new to Kollywood. She had managed to impress the Tamil audience with films like '8 Thottakkal' and 'Sarvam Thaala Mayam'. Undoubtedly, her casting in 'Suriya 38' as the female lead came as a big surprise.

Reports are rife that 'Suriya 38' is based on Air Deccan founder Captain Gopinath and his life. With Aparna having a close resemblance to Gopinath's wife Bhargavi, the makers zeroed in on her.

The 23-year old hailing from Thrissur made her acting debut in Malayalam movie 'Yathra Thudarunnu' (2013). But her big break happened with the 2016 movie 'Maheshinte Prathikaaram'.

Apart from acting, Aparna is a trained artiste in Indian classical music and classical dance forms. She also made her singing debut in 'Maheshinte Prathikaaram' with the song "Mounangal mindumoree".

Up ahead, she will be seen in a pivotal role in 'Aadujeevitham' which stars Prithviraj and Amala Paul in the lead.