Actor Sai Dharam Tej's next with director Karthik Varma Dandu has been titled Virupaksha, say reports. A mystic thriller, the film presents Tej as a youngster, who lands in a village to trace the reason behind a series of mysterious deaths. Interestingly, Virupaksha was earlier considered for Pawan Kalyan's action adventure Hari Hara Veera Mallu.

The film's first-look teaser with a voice-over from Jr NTR will be unveiled on Wednesday. The film also features Samyuktha Menon as the female lead. The shooting of the film is progressing at a rapid pace in Hyderabad and the makers are planning to release it early next year.

Produced jointly by Sri Venkateswara Cine Chitra and Sukumar Writings, Virupaksha has music by Kantara-fame Ajaneesh Loknath. Also featuring Brahmaji, Sunil, and Ajay, the film has cinematography by Shamdat.

Last seen in Republic, Tej is also in talks to work in the Telugu remake of Vinodhaya Sitham. Karthik, on the other hand, made his directorial debut with Navdeep-starrer Bham Bholenath (2015).