Actor Riya Vishwanathan, who will now play Sandhya on the hit Tamil show Raja Rani 2, has shared a picture on Instagram and it has gone viral for obvious reasons. Riya posted her photo in the character of Sandhya with the caption, “To a new beginning,”. This comes after Riya replaced Alya Manasa as the show’s female lead.
Raja Rani, which airs on Star Vijay, is one of the most popular shows and has captivated the hearts and minds of viewers. Directed by Praveen Bennet, the first season of the show starred reel-life couple-turned-real life couple Sanjeev and Alya Manasa.
Their chemistry was greatly appreciated by the audience and formed one of the major reasons for the show’s success. The first season ran from 2017 to 2019 and during the shooting of the first season, romance blossomed between Sanjeev and Alya who played Karthick and Sembaruthi respectively.
The couple got married on Alya Manasa’s birthday in 2019 without anyone knowing amid objections from their parents. They soon had a daughter, who they named Aila Syed. However, later Sanjeev switched to Sun TV where he started playing the protagonist in the serial Kayal, while his wife continued with the second season of Raja Rani which started on October 12, 2020.
Alya Manasa played the role of Sandhya in Raja Rani Season 2 for a while and actor Sidhu played the role of Saravanan. The plot revolves around Sandhya, who wants to become an IAS officer and unexpectedly ends up married to Saravanan. Saravanan realises Sandhya’s ambition after marriage and helps her achieve her dream discreetly. The plot of the second season is different from that of the first season with new characters.
However, Alya got pregnant with her second child during the second season. Due to her baby bump getting visible, she had to quit the serial. The actor confirmed that she would no longer play the character of Sandhya. She has been replaced by Riya Vishwanathan.
Alya gave birth to a baby boy on March 27 this year.
