Rohit Shetty signs South actress opposite Devgn in Singam

Ajay Devgn will be seen romancing South actress Kajal Aggarwal in Rohit Shetty's Singam.

However, this won't be her B-Town debut. Aggarwal was earlier seen in a miniscule role in 2004's Kyun... Ho Gaya Na where she plays Aishwarya's friend. The 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. Rohit confirms, "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."

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."

Who is Kajal Aggarwal?

Kajal has appeared in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada films. She made her acting debut in B-Town but her first huge commercial success at the box office were Chandamama (in Telugu) and Saroja (Tamil).

She rose to prominence after her performance as Yuvarani Mitravinda Devi and Indira (Indu) in Telugu film Magadheera, her biggest hit yet.