Varadhanayaka

Shankare Gowda, the producer had initially cast Chiranjeevi Sarja to play the main protagonist played by Gopichand in the Telugu version.[4] Later, to reprise the cop role played by Jagapathi Babu in the original version, Gowda approached Sudeepa, his main star in the previous venture Kempegowda. Owing to the success of their previous venture, Gowda decided to give extra screen time for Sudeepa in the new film. Gowda was in search of two leading female stars from the Kannada industry. However, due to date issues, none could be roped in. Actress Priyamani was approached to play the lead but she refused the offer. Finally in July 2011, Nikesha Patel who had just begun her career in Telugu films was cast opposite Sarja in the lead role.[5] Later Kamalinee Mukherjee was approached to play the role opposite Sudeepa. However, she was dropped and later Bollywood actress Sameera Reddy was finally roped in for the role.[6] Director Ayyappa Sharma's brothers Sai Kumar and P. Ravi Shankar were also roped in to play the supporting characters. It was also announced that Arjun Sarja would be doing a cameo appearance in the film.

As per the initial plans, the film was supposed to go on sets from February 2011. However several delays caused the shooting to regularly commence from 27 June 2011.The filming began [7] without even casting the leading ladies for the film.

GS Kumar of The Times of India scored the film at 3.5 out of 5 stars and says "Chiranjeevi Sarja has done an excellent work in sentimental and action sequences. Sudeepa is at his best as a police officer. It is Ravishankar as rowdy who beats all with brilliant dialogue delivery and body language. Nikesha Patel impresses you as the girl next door. Sameera Reddy, Dharma, Sharath Lohithashwa, Mukhyamanthri Chandru, Sharan and Shobhraj have done justice to their roles. Music by Arjun Janya is a highlight of the movie. Cinematographer Rajesh Kata has done a marvellous job".[9] Srikant Sriniwasa of Rediff.com scored the film at 3 out of 5 stars and says "Arjun Janya’s music is in tune with what the youngsters want to hear. Cinematography by Rajesh Kata is brilliant and Ravi Varma’s stunt sequences are superb. Varadanayaka is a mass entertainer that should be watched for Sudeepa".[10] A critic from News18 India wrote "'Varadanayaka' is a must watch for Kiccha Sudeep's fans, but it will also prove enjoyable for those who like commercial revenge dramas with huge budgets".[11] Shruti I. L. from DNA wrote "As for music, Baite baite... is the only song that will stay with you even after you leave the movie hall. So what’s our verdict? If you are a fan of commercial potboilers then Varadanayaka will make for an ideal weekend watch".[12]