Mammootty - Karthi in Mani Ratnam Movie
Mammootty and Karthi have reportedly signed Mani Ratnam's upcoming Tamil - Malayalam bilingualFacebook/ Mammootty/Karthi

Since the release of Mani Ratnam's latest movie "OK Kanmani", fans of the ace film-maker are eagerly awaiting his next project. Rumours have been doing rounds that Mani Ratnam's next will be a bilingual film and the latest we hear is that the director has cast Karthi and Mammootty as the lead in Tamil and Malayalam versions of the upcoming movie.

Like his other films, Mani Ratnam will have AR Rahman as the composer for his upcoming movie too.

According to sources, Karthi is looking forward to be part of the Mani Ratnam directorial.

"Karthi has expressed his interest to be part of the project, but he is yet to sign on the dotted line. The official announcement is expected to come soon," a source close to Karthi told IANS.

The actor had started his film career as an assistant director in Mani Ratnam's Tamil-Hindi thriller film "Aayutha Ezhuthu", which starred Suriya, Madhavan and Siddharth. Apparently, the young actor was offered to play a role in the 2004 hit movie, but he denied and chose to be part of the directorial team.

On the other hand, veteran actor Mammootty had earlier worked with Mani Ratnam in 1991 hit film "Thalapathi" along with Rajinikanth. His portrayal as local don Devaraja aka Deva is one of the most memorable characters in the actor's career.

Karthi, who had a series of flops, had recently made a huge comeback with his performances in films like "Komban" and "Madras". Meanwhile, Mammootty is awaiting a series of releases in Malayalam, including "Acha Din", "Utopiayile Rajavu", "White" and  "Pathemari".