Gulshan as the lead in Vasanth's next

Bollywood actor Gulshan Grover will be playing the male lead in director Vasanth Sai's next film, Thanneer, which will be an adaptation of Tamil writer Ashokamitran's acclaimed novel of the same name. The novel, first published in 1973, is set during 1963-64 when Chennai (then Madras) experienced a severe drought, and talks about how scarcity of water affects relationships.
'It is a novel close to my heart and I've been trying to film this novel for the last 20 years. Even the late writer Sujatha wanted me to direct it,' says the director.
Talking about Grover, he says, 'I felt Gulshan will be right for the lead role of Bhaskar Rao, a character who is neither a hero nor a villain. He will dub for the role as well,' says Vasanth Sai, who has roped in Kannada actress Chandni Sasha to play the female lead.
Meanwhile, the director reveals that he had changed his name two months ago. 'I'm a Saibaba devotee and wanted to add Sai to my name. I'm very happy that I was rechristened as Vasanth Sai by my mentor K Balachander, who is also a Sai devotee,' he says.