Adithya Varma

Adithya Varma is an upcoming Indian Tamil-language drama 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.

Cast

 * Dhruv Vikram as Adithya Varma
 * Banita Sandhu
 * Priya Anand
 * Anbu Thasan as Adithya Varma's friend

Original
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. The following month, Bala was chosen to direct the yet-untitled Tamil remake. On 10 November 2017, the title was announced as Varma, although it would later be amended to Varmaa. Raju Murugan was chosen to write the dialogues. M. Sukumar was selected to handle the cinematography. Producer Mukesh Mehta said the remake would be 20 minutes shorter than the Telugu original. Sathish Suriya was chosen as the film editor, after having earlier worked for Bala's Naachiyaar (2018). Actor Vikram's son Dhruv Vikram was cast as the male lead, making his acting debut. It would have been the debut for the Kolkata-based model Megha, who was chosen to play the female lead. Akash Premkumar was chosen to play the lead character's best friend Ashok. Other roles were given to Easwari Rao, Raiza Wilson, and Sandra Amy.

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

New version
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. Bala decried these comments, saying it was his own decision to quit the film "in order to safeguard creative freedom". 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. Mehta said the new version would begin filming in March 2019 and would also have a new title. 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. Anbu Thasan joined the cast in March as the title character's friend, replacing Akash Premkumar. Filming for Adithya Varma began on 11 March. Following the filming of a song sequence in Portugal in mid-April 2019, 65% of the film's shoot was complete. Filming wrapped in mid-May.

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

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

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