Mohanlal, Dhanush, Selvaraghavan And Pawan Kalyan: Major Announcements From The South Indian Film Industries In 2021

Even though the year has just begun, many filmmakers have already gone back to work, and some are burning the midnight oil to make sure their movies hit theatres — and streaming platforms — on time. Here are some of the major announcements that were made on January 1, 2021. It was a mix of expected trailers and unexpected surprises.

 Telugu 

Vakeel Saab

Director: Venu Sriram

A poster featuring Pawan Kalyan and Shruti Haasan started trending on social media. But what caught the eye of the fans was the simple message, "Teaser for Sankranthi."

Krack

Director: Gopichand Malineni

Krack, headlined by Ravi Teja and Shruti Haasan, is a high-voltage action thriller. The trailer hasn't come with a release date, but it's most likely going to be a Sankranthi offering.

 Malayalam 

Drishyam 2

Director: Jeethu Joseph

The teaser for Drishyam 2, starring the invincible Mohanlal as Georgekutty, and with Meena, Ansiba Hassan, Esther Anil, and Asha Sarath reprising their roles, was out at exactly as we stepped into 2021, adding an extra dollop of joy to New Year celebrations. More importantly, it's dropping directly on OTT — Amazon Prime Video has bagged the rights.

 Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham

Director: Priyadarshan

Yes, there are two Mohanlal films here. Also, this announcement wasn't exactly made on January 1, but just a couple of hours ago. The long-awaited movie directed by Priyadarshan will finally receive viewers into theatres from March 26, 2021.

Quiz: How Well Do You Know Mohanlal's Blockbuster Drishyam?

Kannada 

Yuvarathnaa

Director: Santhosh Ananddram

The Puneeth Rajkumar, Sayyeshaa, Sonu Gowda and Dhananjay starrer Yuvarathnaa is all set to make a splash on the big screen on April 1, 2021.

One Cut Two Cut

Director: Vamsidhar Bhogaraju

Danish Sait seems to be revelling in his brand of humour, and he's happy to work in a niche space outside mainstream Kannada cinema. After taking the public and Bengalureans for a ride in Humble Politician Nograj and French Biriyani, he's getting ready to entertain viewers as 'an' Gopi in One Cut Two Cut.

Tamil 

Aayirathil Oruvan 2

Director: Selvaraghavan

This is certainly the biggest announcement on this list. Dhanush and Selvaraghavan will collaborate on the sequel to Aayirathil Oruvan, ten years after Muthu (Karthi) escaped with the young Chola prince to safety in the original. But we'll have to wait for almost four years for that to happen as the poster carries 2024 as the year in which it'll be released. If you want to watch the original, it's now playing in theatres.  

Mughizh

Director: Karthik Swaminathan

Mugizh is made up of just three people, and a house and a puppy. It's a niche film that way, but it looks like it's going to bowl us over with its charm and background score. The cast includes Vijay Sethupathi, Regina Cassandra and Shreeja.

 Kodiyil Oruvan

Director: Ananda Krishnan

Vijay Antony has starred in action films right from the beginning of his acting career. And, if things fall in place, Kodiyil Oruvan will help him reach the next level of stardom. Going by the trailer that was released on January 2, it looks like a true-blue dishoom-dishoom drama.