Mumbai, April 2 (IANS) Her debut Bollywood film will be released in June, but not many know that southern actress Sadaa chose it over the Rajnikanth blockbuster “Sivaji - The Boss”. Sadaa, the heartthrob of countless fans of Tamil and Telugu movies, will soon be seen in “Dil To Deewana Hai”. But a source associated with the film said the actress chose it over working with Rajnikanth as the dates of the two projects clashed.

The source said she was Rajnikanth’s first choice for the female lead in “Sivaji”. A word to this effect was conveyed to Sadaa. Though she jumped with joy at the opportunity of getting paired opposite the “king” of Tamil movies, she did not respond immediately because there was a hitch.

She had already committed herself to the Bollywood movie and wondered if Rajnikanth could help her get a flexible schedule for “Sivaji”, the source said.

But he did not. So the choice was between a dream project like “Sivaji” or a Bollywood career by debuting in a medium-budget Hindi movie. Sadaa chose the latter and eventually Rajnikanth signed Shriya Saran to play the female lead.

While “Sivaji” already made history at the box office, it remains to be seen whether Sadaa made the right choice.

“Dil To Deewana Hai” has been directed by well-known TV actor Raja Bundela and stars Hyder Ali. It is about the changing mentality of the new generation and its attitude towards family traditions.

Incidentally, D.S. Productions’ “Dil To Deewana Hai” will see Zeenat Aman and Raj Babbar teaming up two decades after their joint appearance in B.R. Chopra’s thought-provoking “Insaf Ka Tarazu”, which made the career of Padmini Kolhapure.