The late Uday Kiran was initially considered for the lead role in 'Athadu', Mahesh Babu's biggest classic. After the story of 'Athadu' was finalized, Trivikram and the producers of the family action drama thought Uday Kiran would be a perfect fit. Just as they were about to approach him with the offer, news broke about his engagement to Chiranjeevi's daughter. From then on, Allu Aravind took over the responsibility of finalizing Uday's projects. Perhaps, Aravind was not interested in 'Athadu'. Or, maybe, the cancellation of the wedding played a role in disturbing the plan.
'Athadu' was later pitched to Pawan Kalyan. As per Trivikram, he dozed off during the narration. The actor's loss proved to be someone else's gain.
As destiny would have it, the script finally reached Mahesh Babu, who enthusiastically did the movie. Although Athadu's commercial performance was average, it has since earned unlimited love from its TV viewership.
