Victory Venkatesh’s brawny look in the first look posters of his upcoming sports drama Guru packed a solid punch against the critics who raised doubts saying that he couldn’t match the persona of Madhavan in Saala Khadoos. Not many are aware of the fact that Sudha Kongara, the director, approached Venkatesh first to play the protagonist in the boxing centric film. But, Venky couldn’t kick start the shooting as he was down with a viral fever.

Later, as he got busy with Babu Bangaram and Sudha started working on the Hindi and Tamil version of Saala Khadoos, the Telugu version has been delayed. It is learnt that Venky is keen on working for the project and started prepping up for his character a few months ago. He has recruited a fitness expert and trained rigorously for nine months to get into the beefy look. He is on a strict diet and done a lot of work out in his personal gym to look the part as boxer. The tough look of Venkatesh came as a big surprise to the audience and it is learnt that the star actor is giving his best for this film.

Interestingly, most of the technicians including the director is working for the first time with Venkatesh. Santosh Narayanan will compose the tunes. Set in Vizag backdrop, Guru is slated to hit the screens for December or early January.