Actress Nayanthara, one of the leading actresses of the southern film industry, has been roped in to play Vidya Bagchi in the southern remake of Hindi movie "Kahaani", in which Vidya Balan played the lead.

In the original, directed by Sujoy Ghosh, Vidya played a software programmer. She comes to Kolkata from London in search of her husband.

Expressing her happiness, Nayanthara said: "I am extremely delighted to be a part of this movie."

"The character of Vidya Bagchi was beautifully essayed by Vidya Balan and I should say I am lucky that Endemol approached me for this role. It is definitely a performance oriented role and audiences will see me in a completely different avatar!" she said in a statement.

The actress has known for essaying character-driven roles and she has delivered super hit films across languages down South.

The 27-year-old made her acting debut in the 2003 Malayalam film "Manassinakkare" and followed it with the successful "Vismayathumbathu" in 2004 before foraying into Tamil and Telugu cinema.

Critically acclaimed filmmaker Sekhar Kammula will direct "Kahaani" in Telugu and Tamil.

He is excited to work with Nayanthara and added: "Going by her previous work, I truly feel that Nayanthara can express and connect with the audiences beautifully. It is this endearing quality of hers that makes her our Vidya Bagchi!"

The bilingual remake in Tamil and Telugu is all set to go on floors soon. The film will be co-produced by Endemol India, Logline Productions Pvt. Ltd and Select Media Holdings Pvt Ltd.