Theri was one of the biggest hits in Tamil superstar Vijay's and director Atlee’s careers. It was dubbed into Telugu as Police and released, but the makers quickly pulled it from theaters to remake it.
Attempts to remake the film, initially starring Ravi Teja and later Pawan Kalyan under the direction of Santosh Srinivas, were unsuccessful.
Eventually, director Harish Shankar took up the project, creating Marpulu Cherpulu in his own style based on the script of Theri, and renaming the film Ustaad Bhagat Singh.
The project was halted after 10 days of filming due to the Andhra Pradesh elections, and its fate remains uncertain. It is unclear whether shooting will resume. Harish Shankar is now working on other projects.
Meanwhile, the failure of Baby John has cast further doubts on the relevance of the Theri remake.
The Hindi film, also a remake of the same Tamil film, was produced and overseen by Atlee, but it bombed at the box office. The story of Theri has lost its freshness over time.