Veeram might have been a lukewarm affair as far as the critics were concerned, but that hasn’t fazed its lead actor one bit.

Ajith has his hands full currently with a new project with Gautham Menon, who, for his part, seems to have swung back in action after the debacle of Yohan and Dhuruva Natchathiram.

The film, in which Ajith is paired opposite Anushka Shetty, is expected to be announced next week. Gautham tweeted on Tuesday, “Announcement and details about the film with Ajith in a week’s time. Please wait.. Hang on.. And thank you for the overwhelming enthusiasm.”

But Ajith, who was slated to work with K V Anand’s next after Gautham’s project, seemed to have had a surprise for his fans. If reports are to be believed, Ajith will soon join hands with filmmaker Shankar. The film, expected to go on floors from December this year, will be announced in April. What makes the project more interesting is the fact that Shankar had approached Rajinikanth for it, initially. Sources say that while Rajini was impressed by the story, he suggested that Ajith should be roped in instead of him.

Since the perspective came from the Superstar, there were no two ways about it for Ajith and the latter readily agreed to it.

Shankar, for his part, is readying his next release slated for April Ai, a whodunit that stars Vikram and Amy Jackson in the lead roles. It will be the director’s second collaboration with the National-Award winning actor. Anniyan, released exactly around the same time in 2004, was a blockbuster. With cinematography by P C Sreeram and music by AR Rahman, the film is one of the most anticipated releases for 2014.