Southern actress Kajal to romance Ajay Devgn

Mumbai: Rohit Shetty signs South actress opposite Devgn in SingamBollywood actor Ajay Devgn will be seen romancing South actress Kajal Aggarwal in Rohit Shetty's Singam.

However, this won't be her B-Town debut. Kajal was earlier seen in 2004's Kyun... Ho Gaya Na where she played the role of Aishwarya's friend.

Singam remake will be her first Hindi film as a leading actress.

Initially, Rohit was to cast Anushka Shetty, the actress who featured in the original. "I was initially considering working with Anushka, but her dates didn't match with us. Kajal is very popular down South. She has done Magadheera, one of the biggest Telugu hits of all time. I am finishing Singam and start Bol Bachchan with Abhishek Bachchan immediately after and didn't really have time to wait," said Rohit Shetty.

Will the remake stay true to the original? Says Rohit, "Not really. 75 per cent of the film will be different, while the original basic premise will stay the same.

We have to make the film accessible to every market in the country. So the story will differ from the original. I have introduced new characters and subplots to cater to the general audience."

Kajal has done Telugu, Tamil and Kannada films, her first commercial success at the box office was Chandamama (in Telugu) and then Saroja (Tamil).

She rose to prominence with Magadheera, her biggest hit yet.