Chennai, Jan 18 (IANS): Telugu filmmaker Gunasekhar says he couldn't think of anyone else but Anushka Shetty for the title role in his upcoming period-drama "Rudrama Devi".

"I couldn't think of anyone else but Anushka for the role. I told myself that I would wait until I get to cast her, but fortunately she agreed instantly when I approached her. If it was not for her, this project wouldn't have started," Gunasekhar told IANS.

In the film, Anushka will reprise the role of princess Rudrama Devi, a prominent ruler of the Kakatiya dynasty.

"The reason I didn't want to cast someone else because the audience already accepted Anushka in a period role, and the response she received following her stellar performance in 'Arundhati', persuaded me to cast her," he said.

The film, produced and directed by Gunasekhar, has art direction by Thota Tharani and music by Illayaraja.

Gunasekhar and the rest of the crew recently travelled to Germany for a trial shoot; the filmmaker plans to rope in German technicians for the film, which will go on floors in February.

"It is a very prestigious project and I wanted to get everything right before I start shooting. We have roped in international technicians who would help us with the Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) work to bring back the long forgotten era on screen to perfection," said Gunasekhar.

Fashion designer Neeta Lulla has been roped in to design the costumes, while Sreekar Prasad will handle the editing.