Mahesh Babu was the first choice for the movie 24, which was eventually headlined by Suriya. Director Vikram Kumar had originally written the script for the Guntur Kaaram star. The superstar himself confirmed that he liked the subject but felt he couldn't do justice to the demanding triple roles (especially the antagonist, Aathreya) and hence, he turned down the offer.
After 24 became acclaimed (it was supposedly not a hit in Tamil!) in 2016, Vikram Kumar seriously tried to work with Allu Arjun and Mahesh himself on different occasions. However, nothing worked out for him. He teamed up with Akhil Akkineni and others later.
Recently, unconfirmed Tollywood media reports stated that Vikram Kumar is intent on enlisting Vijay Deverakonda for a script that was meant for actor Nithiin initially.
