Sensational romantic family hit was supposed to be done by Mahesh Babu

Manasantha Nuvve, released in October 2001, was a blockbuster. It marked the directorial debut of VN Aditya. Its story was written by producer MS Raju himself.

After writing the story and pitching it to VN Aditya, MS Raju suggested that Mahesh Babu be cast in the lead role. Aditya differed with the producer, saying that Mahesh’s inclusion would necessitate forced action sequences. The director wanted Manasantha Nuvve to be devoid of such elements. So, he preferred Uday Kiran. MS Raju respected Aditya’s judgement. Incidentally, Raju was the producer of Mahesh Babu’s classic, Okkadu.

Interestingly, another movie got swapped between Mahesh Babu and Uday Kiran a few years later. Athadu was supposed to be fronted by Uday Kiran. Murali Mohan wanted to approach Uday but Allu Aravind (who was controlling Uday’s projects at that time), didn’t give the nod. Trivikram then chose Mahesh Babu. Both Manasantha Nuvve and Athadu had chartbuster songs.