Malavika Mohanan almost had a spy franchise of her own before she picked another one instead. At the pre-release event for Sardar 2 on Monday, Adivi Sesh let slip that his team had gone to Malavika first for the female lead in Goodachari 2, the sequel to his own spy thriller franchise. She said no.

Not because she didn't want it. The dates simply didn't work.

"We have approached Malavika garu for our Goodachari 2, but she said she is already doing a spy film Sardar 2," Sesh told the crowd, playing guest of honour at an event for a film that isn't even his. "So hopefully we will get to work next time with her."

By the time Goodachari 2's makers came calling, Malavika had already committed to Sardar 2, and she reportedly felt the two shoots would overlap. So she stayed put with Karthi's film instead, and the Goodachari 2 role eventually went to Wamiqa Gabbi. Filmfare reports the character comes with real teeth, plenty of action, plenty of spunk.

It's a funny bit of trivia, one actor talking up a film he's not in to promote the film he is in, but it also tells you something about how tight Telugu cinema's spy-thriller lane has gotten. Two franchises, similar genre, similar leading-lady requirements, both circling the same actress within months of each other.

Malavika, for her part, doesn't sound like she's second-guessing the call. In Sardar 2, releasing September 10, she plays a character named Sara, and by her own account it's nothing like the glamorous or romantic parts she's usually offered. This one required actual physical training. Wire work. Jump sequences from height. The kind of prep that leaves you sore for a week.

"Working on Sardar 2 is a mad ride," she said. "Climbing 200 meters of stairs and jumping while maintaining body posture and core control was challenging. But I am excited for the gritty espionage's theatrical release and looking forward."

That 200-metre stair climb, done while holding form for a stunt sequence, is the sort of detail that tells you the film wasn't looking for a pretty face standing next to Karthi. It wanted someone who could take a hit, literally.

So the question now sits with the box office. Sardar 2 opens Thursday. If it lands, Malavika's bet on scheduling over the Goodachari franchise will look like the right call. If Goodachari 2 turns into the bigger hit next year, well, Sesh has already left the door open for round two. "Next time," he said. Telugu cinema tends to remember lines like that.