Varun Tej after the super success of F2 flew to USA to cut down his weight. He lost enough weight and he joined the sets of Valmiki which is the remake of Tamil blockbuster Jigarthandaa. Varun Tej, Atharvaa Murali are the lead actors and Harish Shankar is the director. The film’s shoot is half way done and Pooja Hegde has been roped in as the female lead. She is yet to join the shoot and complete her part in back to back schedules.

In a shocking move, Pooja Hegde walked out of the project as she could not allot enough days for the film. There are also talks that Pooja Hegde is not happy with the pay quoted and decided to call it a quit. The makers are in plans to lock the female lead at the earliest and complete the shoot. Valmiki is slated for August release and is produced by 14 Reels Plus banner. Devi Sri Prasad is the music director.