Debutant director Satya Deva, who waited four years for his forthcoming Telugu film "Lion" to materialise, says the project was always destined to happen with actor-politician Nandamuri Balakrishna.

"I had narrated a few lines four years ago. Since then we've been in talks and even met at public gatherings, but somehow the project didn't materialise. He remembered what I had narrated and called me last year and expressed his interest to work on it. I felt this project was destined to happen with him," Deva told
"What's heartening is that he didn't forget about this project even though he heard it long back. Though I wrote the script four years ago, over the years I made slight changes to it by keeping in mind his image, body language and even the response to his previous films," he said.

Satya said that Balakrishna deserves all the credit for the successful completion of "Lion".

"He owned this project like it was his own. He liked the script so much that he started caring and loving it. He plays Godse and Bose; two characters with different shades. He took these characters as a challenge and worked extremely hard," he said.

For one of the roles, Balakrishna, even shed weight.

"For the role of Godse, he lost about seven kg. though actors like Suriya and Vikram have experimented with their bodies, but there was no need for Balakrishna to lose weight at his age. But he didn't mind taking that effort for the sake of a character," he added.

According to Satya, for nearly four months, Balakrishna survived on only two meals a day.

"Lion" is the follow up to Balakrishna's blockbuster "Legend", which recently celebrated a record 400 days run in a few theatres in Andhra and Telangana.

He clarifies that "Lion" won't be a "political film" and will feature all the right emotions usually associated with Balakrishna's movie.

The film also stars Trisha Krishnan and Radhika Apte in important roles.

Satya chose Trisha as the film's leading lady because she hasn't worked with Balakrishna before and felt someone as senior and experienced as her would be apt for the role.