Adithya Varma is an upcoming Indian Tamil-languagedrama film directed by Gireesaaya (in his directorial debut) and produced by Mukesh Mehta under E4 Entertainment. The film stars newcomer Dhruv Vikram and Banita Sandhu in the lead roles while Priya Anand appears in a supporting role. It is a remake of the Telugu film Arjun Reddy (2017). The film was originally directed by Bala under the title Varma (later amended to Varmaa) and shot between March and September 2018; however, in February 2019, due to creative differences with Bala, E4 Entertainment decided to re-launch it with a new cast and crew; only Dhruv and music director Radhan were retained. The new version, titled Adithya Varma, began filming in March 2019 and ended that May. It is scheduled to be released in June 2019.

• 2Production

Cast[edit]

• Dhruv Vikram as Adithya Varma
• Banita Sandhu
• Anbu Thasan as Adithya Varma's friend

Production[edit]

Original[edit]

In September 2017, it was announced that E4 Entertainment had bought the rights to remake the Telugu film Arjun Reddy (2017) in Tamil and Malayalam languages.^[1] The following month, Bala was chosen to direct the yet-untitled Tamil remake.^[2] On 10 November 2017, the title was announced as Varma,^[3] although it would later be amended to Varmaa.^[4]Raju Murugan was chosen to write the dialogues.^[5] M. Sukumar was selected to handle the cinematography.^[6] Producer Mukesh Mehta said the remake would be 20 minutes shorter than the Telugu original.^[7]Sathish Suriya was chosen as the film editor, after having earlier worked for Bala's Naachiyaar (2018).^[8] Actor Vikram's son Dhruv Vikram was cast as the male lead, making his acting debut.^[5] It would have been the debut for the Kolkata-based model Megha, who was chosen to play the female lead.^[9] Akash Premkumar was chosen to play the lead character's best friend Ashok.^[10] Other roles were given to Easwari Rao,^[11]Raiza Wilson,^[12] and Sandra Amy.^[13]

Principal photography began in early March 2018 at Kathmandu, Nepal,^[5] and a week later, after completing the first schedule there, the crew shifted to Chennai for the second schedule.^[14] Shooting was briefly stalled due to a strike of the Tamil Film Producers Council, but resumed in April after the strike ended.^[15] For the final schedule, the team shifted to Tiruvannamalai.^[10] Principal photography wrapped in September 2018.^[16]

New version[edit]

On 7 February 2019, E4 Entertainment issued a press statement stating that they would go for a complete re-shoot of film as they were not satisfied with the final cut. They added that the film would be relaunched with a completely new cast and crew while retaining Dhruv.^[4] Bala decried these comments, saying it was his own decision to quit the film 'in order to safeguard creative freedom'.^[17] This became the first such incident in Tamil cinema that the producer of the film refuses to release the film due to unsatisfactory final cut despite the completion of the film.^[18] Mehta said the new version would begin filming in March 2019 and would also have a new title.^[19] Later in the month, Arjun Reddy writer-director Sandeep Vanga's assistant Gireesaaya was announced as the new director, making his directorial debut. The new cast and crew were also announced: heroine Banita Sandhu, supporting actress Priya Anand, and cinematographer Ravi K. Chandran. The new title, Adithya Varma, was announced on 19 February.^[20] Anbu Thasan joined the cast in March as the title character's friend, replacing Akash Premkumar.^[21] Filming for Adithya Varma began on 11 March.^[22] Following the filming of a song sequence in Portugal in mid-April 2019, 65% of the film's shoot was complete.^[23] Filming wrapped in mid-May.^[24]

Soundtrack[edit]

The soundtrack was composed by Radhan, who also composed that of the Telugu original.^[25] The song 'Vaanodum Mannodum', written by Vairamuthu and sung by Vignesh G., was released on 27 December 2018 as a single.^[26] He had signed the project when it was titled Varmaa, and was retained for Adithya Varma.^[27]

Marketing[edit]

A teaser for Bala's version, Varmaa, was released on 23 September 2018. The teaser was widely ridiculed and criticised on social media,^[28] while a critic from The New Indian Express called it 'a failed attempt to remake the original'.^[29]

Release[edit]

Adithya Varma is scheduled to be released in June 2019.^[4] Shakthi Film Factory acquired the film's distribution rights for Tamil Nadu when it was titled Varmaa.^[30]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^'E4 Entertainment snaps Arjun Reddy remake rights'. Sify. 16 September 2017. Archived from the original on 20 February 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
2. ^'Bala to direct Arjun Reddy remake'. The New Indian Express. 9 October 2017. Archived from the original on 27 October 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
3. ^Shah, Aashna (10 November 2017). 'Arjun Reddy's Tamil Remake Will Be Called Varma'. NDTV. Archived from the original on 5 December 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
4. ^ ^abc'E4 Entertainment not happy with Bala's Varmaa; to re-shoot the Arjun Reddy remake with a new team'. Cinema Express. 7 February 2019. Archived from the original on 7 February 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
5. ^ ^abcPudipeddi, Haricharan (3 March 2018). 'Varma, Arjun Reddy Tamil remake, starts rolling'. Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 6 March 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
6. ^'Varma, Tamil remake of Arjun Reddy, to feature debutante Megha Choudhary opposite Dhruv Vikram'. Firstpost. 7 July 2018. Archived from the original on 25 July 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
7. ^Pillai, Sreedhar (9 August 2018). 'It's raining remakes in Kollywood'. The Hindu. Archived from the original on 21 September 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
8. ^Sathish Suriya [@editorsuriya] (23 September 2018). '#Varma my second film with the legend #bala sir. Enjoyed working on Varma. #E4Entertainment and Happy Birthday #DhruvVikram' (Tweet) – via Twitter.
9. ^'Model Megha to debut opposite Dhruv in 'Varma''. The Times of India. 4 July 2018. Archived from the original on 27 July 2018. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
10. ^ ^abBalaji, Gautham (8 August 2018). 'City boy makes it big with Bala's next'. Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 21 August 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
11. ^Rajendran, Gopinath (5 June 2018). 'Easwari Rao: I thought I was called to play Rajini sir's mother'. Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 21 September 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
12. ^'Bala's Varma gets a heroine'. Cinema Express. 4 July 2018. Archived from the original on 6 July 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
13. ^'The luck factor'. Deccan Chronicle. 22 November 2018. Archived from the original on 22 November 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
14. ^''Arjun Reddy' Tamil remake: Makers of 'Varma' complete first schedule in Nepal'. The News Minute. 9 March 2018. Archived from the original on 21 September 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
15. ^'Director Bala resumes 'Varma' shoot'. Sify. 24 April 2018. Archived from the original on 24 April 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
16. ^'Dhruv Vikram wraps up 'Varma''. The Times of India. 17 September 2018. Archived from the original on 18 September 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
17. ^'Varmaa controversy: Director Bala says he stepped down after he was asked to make changes to the Dhruv Vikram-starrer'. Cinema Express. 9 February 2019. Archived from the original on 10 February 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
18. ^Sekar, Raja (7 February 2019). 'Varmaa: Tamil remake of cult Telugu film Arjun Reddy dropped; producers and director Bala at loggerheads'. Firstpost. Archived from the original on 9 February 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
19. ^Pillai, Sreedhar (12 February 2019). 'Why did the producers of 'Varmaa' decide to shoot the film from scratch again?'. The Hindu. ISSN0971-751X. Archived from the original on 20 February 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
20. ^'Arjun Reddy's Tamil remake now titled Adithya Varma, new poster out'. Hindustan Times. 19 February 2019. Archived from the original on 19 February 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
21. ^'Anbu Thasan to play Dhruv's friend in Adithya Varma'. The Times of India. 11 March 2019. Archived from the original on 13 March 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
22. ^'Adithya Varma: Dhruv Vikram's Tamil remake of Arjun Reddy goes on floors'. In.com. 12 March 2019. Archived from the original on 13 March 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
23. ^''Adithya Varma' shoot progressing at fast pace!'. Sify. 16 April 2019. Archived from the original on 16 April 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
24. ^'It's a wrap for Dhruv Vikram's Adithya Varma'. Cinema Express. 15 May 2019. Archived from the original on 16 May 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
25. ^'Music director Radhan roped in for Bala's 'Varma''. The Times of India. 24 July 2018. Archived from the original on 21 September 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
26. ^'வானோடும் மண்ணோடும்... பாலாவின் 'வர்மா' பட பாடல் ரிலீஸ் - வீடியோ'. News18 (in Tamil). 27 December 2018. Archived from the original on 28 December 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
27. ^'New version of Arjun Reddy Tamil remake titled Adithya Varma'. Cinema Express. 19 February 2019. Archived from the original on 16 April 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
28. ^'Dhruv Vikram contributes first remuneration for rebuilding Kerala'. Mathrubhumi. 25 September 2018. Archived from the original on 9 May 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
29. ^'Director Bala fails to bring charm of 'Arjun Reddy' in 'Varma' trailer'. The New Indian Express. 23 September 2018. Archived from the original on 24 September 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
30. ^''Varma': Actor Suriya launches the trailer of Bala's next'. The Times of India. 9 January 2019. Archived from the original on 12 January 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2019.

External links[edit]

• Adithya Varma on IMDb