Manish Paul, who made his big screen debut with Mickey Virus in 2013, will next be seen in Khalid Mohamed's remake of Sai Paranjpye's 1983 cult classic Katha. He will play the suave playboy Vasu, the part essayed by Farooq Sheikh in the original.

Two days ago, Mirror had reported that Sohum Shah, the actor-producer of Ship of Theseus, who was the first choice for the role, was out of the project, following date clashes and creative differences.

Elaborating on how he had found a replacement so quickly, Khalid said: “I had already spoken to Manish about the character while we were auditioning other actors. I emailed him the script and he responded positively. Then he watched the original film and we were on.“

According to the filmmaker, Manish is far better choice than Sohum. “He has a lot more star value and is an interesting guy,“ he pointed out.

The film goes on floors today. “We've locked the cast and the location. It is mostly going to be a start-to-end schedule. We should be done by mid-February,“ Khalid informed.

Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub, best remembered for his turn as Dhanush's friend in Raanjhanaa, will play Naseerudin Shah's role, while newbie Sharmila Mandre steps into Dipti Naval's shoes.