Samantha Akkineni, Naga Chaitanya to share screen space after four years in Shiva Nirvana's next

Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Akkineni, who recently entered wedlock, are set to play onscreen couple for the fourth time in director Shiva Nirvana’s upcoming yet-untitled Telugu project. [caption id=“attachment_4115119” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Naga Chaitanya at their engagement ceremony. Image from Twitter.[/caption] Last seen together in Deva Katta’s 2014 Telugu social drama Autonagar Surya but best remembered for their work in Ye Maaya Chesave and Manam, the couple, who go by the name ChaySam currently, are most likely to start shooting for this project later this year. In an exclusive chat with Firstpost, Nirvana, who made a splash with heartwarming Ninnu Kori last year, recalled how he brought together the most loved pair of Tollywood for his new project. “After Ninnu Kori, I wanted to take a gap and do films in different genres. But I struck upon an exciting idea and felt if I turn it into a story then it’d suit Chaitanya. So I went and pitched the idea, and Chaitanya really liked it. I also suggested that it’d be nice to have Samantha be part of this story, and he asked me to go and pitch the story to her. She got really excited after she heard the story,” Shiva said, adding he is figuring out shoot dates as Chaitanya is currently busy with two projects. “Chai is on the verge of completing _Savyasachi_ and he also has Maruthi’s next. We haven’t locked the shooting days yet. We are most likely to go to the sets once he’s relieved of both the projects. Meanwhile, Samantha will also finish her current commitments,” he added. Samantha is currently shooting for the Telugu and Tamil remake of Kannada indie thriller U-Turn, in which she will be seen playing a journalist on a mission. Shiva was lauded by critics and audiences alike for his mature portrayal of romance in Ninnu Kori. Talking about the treatment of romance in this project, he said, “Romance in Ninnu Kori was very lighthearted but it will be intense in this film. Also, Ninnu Kori was more urban-centric in its overall approach and treatment. It won’t be too urban this time. We are in the process of finalising the rest of the cast and crew.” To be bankrolled under the banner of Shine Screens, the film will be produced by Sahu Garapati and Harish Peddi.