Chennai, Jul 4 (IANS): Director Govi says actress Trisha Krishnan, known for her work in films such as "Athadu" and "Stalin", is the real hero of forthcoming Telugu horror-comedy "Nayaki", which releases in cinemas on Friday.

"Although I have two male leads, Trisha is the hero of the film. She worked very hard on this project, shed weight and underwent complete makeover to play her part. I don't think any leading actress would compromise so much for the sake of a film," Govi told IANS.

In the film, Trisha displays two different looks.

"In one of her avatars, she plays a 16-18 year old character. I didn't have to tell her how she should look for the character. When I narrated the story, she understood what was expected from her to do justice to the role," he said.

Govi calls "Nayaki" a retro horror-comedy, a genre that hasn't been attempted before.

"Trisha will be mostly seen in the 1980s look. The story will go back and forth in time. The film is 98 percent comedy and two percent horror," said Govi, adding that without Trisha's support they couldn't have completed the project on time.

"We shot the film simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil. It's not easy to complete a bilingual in 48 days but Trisha ensured that the project was not delayed at any cost.

"For her role in the 1980s, it'd take her easily five hours to wear costumes and make-up. Nevertheless, she never complained or threw tantrums. She was very understanding and patient throughout the course of the shoot," he added.

Model-turned-actor Ganesh Venkat Raman is paired with Trisha in the film, which also features Jayaprakash, Satyam Rajesh, Brahmanandam and Sentrayan in important roles.

For the first time in her career, Trisha has crooned in "Nayaki".

"She sang a three-minute promo song. One minute of the song will be used as the title track and the rest of it will feature in the film," Govi said.