Reigning actress Nayantara, who was supposed to play the female lead in producer M.S. Raju's heroine-focused horror thriller tentatively titled Chandi (Telugu), starring the producer's son Sumanth Ashwin as the debut hero, has been replaced by Hansika Motwani, it is said. However, the official confirmation is yet to come.

Chandi is said to be a socio-fantasy-cum-graphical extravaganza like Arundhati and will be directed by the renowned Kodi Ramakrishna under the banner of Sumanth Art Productions. Tamil hero Arya, who plays a negative role in Allu Arjun’s ongoing Arya 2, is expected to play the villain. The film will start rolling in September.

Nayantara is currently busy with two films: Jr. NTR starrer Adurs (Telugu) and Suriya starrer Aadhavan (Tamil). She recently completed her portions in veteran director Siddique's Malayalam film Bodyguard opposite Dileep.