After legendary ‘NTR’ and evergreen Krishna, it is the turn of colorful star Balakrishna to don the fatigues in his next release ‘Vijayendra Varma’.

It is a tale of a high-ranking military officer who brings pride to the nation, says director Subbarao, explaining his tag line: ‘Power of an Indian’.

He has fused a love story into this patriotic theme to make it a complete entertainer: He intends to release it in September.

With just two exceptions, Telugu stars have avoided donning the military uniform since it’s not considered a safe bet commercially. ‘NTR’ and Krishna, however, delivered blockbusters in this genre. NTR’s ‘Bobbili Pulli’ and Krishna’s ‘Chikati Velugulu’ proved that such films could be money-spinners, but others did not jump in.

‘Chikati Velugulu’ told the tale of a military officer in a conventional mode, but ‘Bobilli Pulli’ depicted the transformation of a recipient of Param Vir Chakra into a dreaded killer. In the court, the latter even justifies his killings by claiming that the duty of an officer is to eradicate enemies across and within the border.

But ‘Vijayendra Varma; with three top heroines, seems to be a traditional tale of an upright officer.

It will be a memorable role in my career, says Balakrishna who is playing such a part for the first time in a 25-year-old career, excluding his brief appearance in fatigues in ‘Mangamma Gari Manavudu’.