Athiya Shetty, who made her Bollywood debut opposite newcomer Sooraj Pancholi in Salman Khan's production venture "Hero" that hit the screens last week, has reportedly bagged a new project.

If reports are to be believed, Athiya has signed her second film with one of the Bollywood's biggest producer-director, Karan Johar. Apparently, Karan wanted a fresh face for his next project and Athiya fitted into the role.

While the male lead of the film is yet to be decided, it is said that the project will go on floors next year.

"She had been going through scripts for a while now, and wanted to take her own time to decide what to take up next. However, when she was approached for Karan Johar's film, she seems quite excited. So, if things go as per plan, she will definitely be on board and we will start looking for the male lead soon," a source told the Mid-Day.

"Athiya, who has been launched by Salman Khan, is not bound by any contract and is free to work with any director and production house. Salman has also made it clear that he won't have to guide Athiya at each and every step of her career as she is capable of making her own decisions," said another source.

While no official confirmation has been made by Suneil Shetty's daughter or KJo, the producer-director's spokesperson has denied the buzz.

Meanwhile, Karan is busy with his next directorial project "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" that has Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma in lead roles. The entire crew started shooting for the film in London last week.