Venkatesh is stepping into the shoes of Madhavan in the Telugu remake of 'Saala Khadoos' ('Irudhi Suttru' in Tamil). He will be seen as a boxing coach in this sports drama. The 'Babu Bangaram' has bulked up a bit for the role.

Reports suggest that the makers have zeroed in on the title 'Guru' for this movie. The title is because Venky plays a 'guru' (coach) to the character played by Rithika Singh.

Sudha Kongara, who directed the Hindi version, will direct this version, too. It is being produced by D Suresh Babu. The pre-production work is nearing completion and the regular shooting is scheduled to start off on Sept 10.

Music is by Santosh Narayanan of Kabali fame. Cinematography is by Sivakumar Vijayan. Art direction is by Santhanam.