Varmaa is a 2020 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film directed by Bala and produced by Mukesh Mehta of E4 Entertainment.

The film features music composed by Radhan, with M. Sukumar handling the cinematography and Sathish Suriya, taking in-charge of the editing.

Filmed between March and September 2018, its release was initially cancelled after E4 Entertainment was unsatisfied with the output and re-shot the remake in 2019 as Adithya Varma with a largely different cast and crew.

After a brawl alongside his friend Kamal against members of the opposing team during an inter-college football match, the dean asks Varmaa to either apologise or leave the college.

To cope with his emotions, he starts taking drugs, attempts one-night stands, buys a pet dog, and names it after Megha and drinks alcohol; all of which are unsuccessful.

Within months, he becomes a successful surgeon and a high-functioning alcoholic who is feared by the hospital's staff members, one of the reasons being his high surgery count.

The hospital chief files a case against Varma, who accepts the truth on the grounds of violating his professional ethics during an in-house court hearing, despite Ashok making arrangements to bail him out.

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.

M. Sukumar was selected to handle the cinematography[5] and Sathish Suriya was chosen as the film editor, after having earlier worked for Bala's Naachiyaar (2018).

[16] On 7 February 2019, E4 issued a press statement stating that they would go for a complete reshoot as they were not satisfied with the final cut provided by Bala.

[17] In a separate press statement, Bala decried E4's comments, saying it was his own decision to quit the film "in order to safeguard creative freedom" because he was asked to make changes.

[24] The song "Vaanodum Mannodum", written by Vairamuthu and sung by Vignesh G., was released on 27 December 2018 as a single,[25] but was not included on Adithya Varma.

It was widely ridiculed and criticised on social media,[27] while a critic from The New Indian Express called it "a failed attempt to remake the original".

[30] When Varmaa was scheduled for a theatrical release in January 2019, Shakthi Film Factory acquired the Tamil Nadu distribution rights.

[36] Baradwaj Rangan of Film Companion wrote, "Not a single frame is distinctive, or shows that a major filmmaker is behind the camera.

"[38] Manoj Kumar R of The Indian Express wrote, "After watching Varmaa, I could see why the producer thought it was not a good idea to release it in theaters.

Bala's interpretation of Sandeep Vanga's material strips the larger-than-life aura around the self-indulgent, inconsiderate, alcoholic and self-destructive protagonist."

[40] Sudhir Srinivasan of Cinema Express gave the film a rating of one-and-a-half out of five stars and noted that "What would the Bala of today change about/add to this story that’s been told so many times now that you can predict its every beat?