(From top) Swetha and Soham

Recognise her? She’s that bubbly li’ girl who was hounded by a witch in Makdee. The sister who cheered her deaf-mute brother (Shreyas Talpade) to bowling glory in Iqbal.

Swetha Basu Prasad is all grown up and set to debut in Tollywood as the leading lady in first-time director Soumik Chattopadhyay’s untitled film, where she will romance Amanush hero Soham. The movie is a Shree Venkatesh Films production.

A half-Bong by birth, Swetha has already made inroads into the Telugu film industry, where her debut film Kotha Bangaru Lokam was one of the top grossers in 2008.

But this won’t be the first time Swetha will be a Bengali girl on screen — she had earlier played Mithun Chakraborty’s daughter in art designer Samir Chanda’s yet-to-release directorial debut Ek Nadir Galpo.

“In my film, Swetha plays the daughter of a rich zamindar. The story is about a boy (Soham) who struggles hard to earn a living after losing both his parents. Swetha’s character falls for him,” said Soumik, who has steered two popular STAR Jalsha mega serials, Durga and Behula.

“This film is a comedy but not slapstick and the protagonist is more of a character than a hero. Soham’s character suddenly comes to know of his ancestral property in a village and when he goes there he faces a lot of hurdles that are quite funny. The film takes the shape of a thriller in the second half. It’s inspired by a Hollywood classic,” added Soumik, who quit Behula midway to start his first film.

“I always wanted to be a filmmaker but never got the chance and that’s why I chose TV. I have directed a couple of telefilms for Zee Bangla and also the popular mega Swapner Rang Nil,” said Soumik.

The film hits the floors in end-October. It will be shot in Hyderabad and Bolpur apart from Calcutta.