Niharika has the honesty and chilipithanam required to play Sandhya who is an embodiment of love

The term ���love��� means different things for different people. Director GV Ramaraju believes true love is eternal and wanted Sandhya, the central character in Oka Manasu, to represent the timeless nature of love. And casting the right lead actress was paramount to the film. ���Sandhya is an embodiment of love and we wanted an actress who could represent that,��� shares Ramaraju.
The filmmakers narrated the script to the likes of Samantha and Regina before zeroing in on Niharika. ���Both Sam and Regina were keen on working on this project but we wanted an ���achhamaina Telugammayi��� (a true blue Telugu girl). One day it struck me that Niharika would fit the bill perfectly. I texted him (director) at 12:30 am that we must cast Niharika and he immediately agreed,��� recalls
Madhura Sreedhar who is producing the movie under the Madhura Entertainment banner.
���Niharika was already popular as a TV host. And she has an honesty and chilipithanam (naughtiness) about her that suited the role,��� says Ramaraju, who has been ���holding on to the story for three years.���
In contrast, choosing Naga Shaurya for the lead role (Surya) happened ���in a matter of seconds���. ���We had already agreed that we will pick the male lead based on who will play Sandhya. We were looking at the pictures of various actors and the moment we saw Naga Shaurya, we knew he had to be Surya,��� adds Madhura Sreedhar.