'Varmaa' controversy: Director Bala breaks silence, reveals why the film was droppedFeb 10 (AZINS) After the official statement from E4 Entertainment on the Varmaa controversy, director Bala has broken his silence on the issue. "I'm forced to release this explanation due to the false statement from the producer of Varmaa. In order to safeguard creative freedom, it was my own decision to relieve myself from the project. Please find the agreement initiated by me and the producer on Jan 22, 2019, along with this."

"Considering Dhruv Vikram's future, I would like to end this here," Bala added. Reports are already rife in Kollywood that many filmmakers are in the running to bag the directorial opportunity for the film, which is expected to go on floors sometime later next month.

The Kollywood grapevine is also abuzz with reports that ace filmmaker Gautham Menon, who has worked with Vikram in the spy thriller Dhruva Natchathiram, is one of the leading choices of the producer, Dhruv Vikram and Vikram too. Earlier, Mukesh Mehta of E4 Entertainment said that their team was not at all happy with the final outcome of the film directed by Bala.

"Due to various creative and other differences, we have decided not to release this version. Instead, we will start afresh, and shoot a new Tamil version of Arjun Reddy with Dhruv as the main lead by staying true to the soul and intention of the original. Official announcements regarding the new cast and crew including director will be made shortly," the statement from E4 Entertainment read.