The actress shot with Allu Arjun in Mumbai for the first time since a tendon injury on Mysaa forced her off the schedule last month, with Karan Mehta also joining the ensemble.
Rashmika Mandanna is back on set. Bollywood Hungama reported that the actress resumed shooting for Allu Arjun and Atlee's Raaka in Mumbai this week, her first day on the film since a hip injury sidelined her last month.
The injury happened while she was filming a dance sequence for Mysaa. A right hip tendon detachment, severe enough that it pushed her Raaka schedule off course entirely. She was originally meant to join the film in August. Instead, she spent weeks on a medical break.
According to Bollywood Hungama, she's fully recovered now and shot alongside Allu Arjun for what the outlet describes as only a few days this round. Her full portions on the film start next month, and the two are expected to shoot several action sequences together once that block begins. This is their second film as co-stars after the Pushpa franchise turned both into pan-India names.
The report also has news on the cast beyond Rashmika. Karan Mehta, who debuted in Hindi cinema with Anurag Kashyap's Almost Pyaar With DJ Mohabbat and earlier assisted on Shah Rukh Khan's Raees, has joined Raaka in a key role and has already begun filming.
A crowded, contested cast list
Raaka's ensemble is already stacked. Besides Allu Arjun and Rashmika, the film has Deepika Padukone, Mrunal Thakur and Janhvi Kapoor, with Ramya Krishnan, Yogi Babu and Jim Sarbh in supporting parts. Sun Pictures is producing.
One name has been going back and forth. Several reports have placed Gatta Kusthi actress Aishwarya Lekshmi in the film, but Bollywood Hungama's sources say that's not accurate and she isn't attached to the project at all. Worth flagging that this remains a case of one outlet's sourcing against another's claims, not a settled fact either way.
The stakes on Raaka are obvious enough. It's Allu Arjun's first film since the Pushpa franchise closed out and made him one of the biggest stars in the country, full stop. It's also Atlee's follow-up to Jawan, the Shah Rukh Khan film that turned into his Hindi debut and pulled in close to Rs 1150 crore worldwide. Two directors' biggest bets, riding on one project.
Described as a large-scale fantasy actioner set in a parallel universe, Raaka is being eyed for a wrap by the first quarter of 2027. A late 2027 theatrical release is currently in the frame, though nothing on that front is locked yet. For now, the immediate marker is smaller: Rashmika back on set, cleared for action sequences, with her heavier shooting block still a month away.
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