Chennai, Jun 13 (IANS): After receiving critical acclaim for his Telugu directorial debut "Midhunam", actor-filmmaker Tanikella Bharani's next feature will be a period drama inspired by real incidents.

The film is expected to go on the floors next year.

"It's a period drama based on real incidents and it's a highly engrossing story. The characters are extremely strong and the script needs a lot of research and will take time. It will go on floors early next year," the film's producer Neelima Tirumalasetti, told IANS.

The film's title has been finalised, but the casting is yet to be done.

"The title is confirmed, but we would like to reveal it later. We will start casting once the script is completely done," she added.

Neelima says it's the story that prompted her to fund the project.

"I have always believed that for a movie - the story is the essence. This is true for this movie too. All I want to do is to give my hundred percent to make the best movie possible," she said.

Bharani impressed critics and fans alike with his low-budget drama "Midhunam", which featured only two characters played by S.P Balasubramanyam and Lakshmi.

A popular actor in the Telugu industry, Bharani has starred in over 500 films. He has penned the dialogues for films such as Ram Gopal Varma's "Siva", "Money Money" and "Yamaleela".

The 56-year old has written 10 plays and has also directed short films like "Siraa", "Key" and "Blue Cross".