Fifteen South Films That Missed Their Big Summer Release Dates

With the second wave upon us and governments imposing more stringent lockdowns, especially on large congregations like events and films, big budget films continue to struggle to find a pan-Indian release date that will help them recover their investments. The following films have backed out of the 2021 summer race: 

Jagame Thandhiram

Director: Karthik Subbaraj

Cast:  Dhanush, Aishwarya Lekshmi

Expectations are high for Jagame Thandhiram after the success of Dhanush-starrer Karnan. It looks like the story of a local gangster in London. Originally scheduled for a 2020 release, the film is releasing on Netflix on June 18, 2021 in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada. 

Doctor

Director: Nelson Dilipkumar

Cast: Sivakarthikeyan, Priyanka Mohan

Directed by Nelson (who is also directing Vijay's next), the film was to release in 2020. It was later scheduled for the last week of March 2021 when state elections came in the way. With the second wave looming, it looks like Doctor might go to an OTT platform after all. Anirudh's music for the film is already clocking tens of millions of views.

Valimai

Director: H Vinoth

Cast: Ajith, Huma Qureshi

One of most expected films on the list, Ajith fans haven't even had a glimpse of their star in the film. The film was supposed to release last year and with parts of the film requiring foreign locations, progress has been slow. The film is likely to release in August 2021. 

Cobra

Director: Ajay Gnanamuthu 

Cast: Vikram, Srinidhi Shetty, Irfan Pathan

Cobra features Vikram in many avatars from an old man to 'Cobra', the genius mathematician who solves crimes using just math. It was originally set to get a May 2020 release but the pandemic prevented the team from completing the film's shooting. It is delayed again now, with no official date for a theatrical release.

Laabam

Director: SP Jananathan

Cast: Vijay Sethupathi, Shruti Haasan

Slated to release in May, late SP Jananathan's Laabam looks as ideologically-committed as the rest of his filmography. It also features Vijay Sethupathi, who appeared previously in the director's Purampokku. This one could go to OTTs too, and perhaps, that's a more conducive space for the kind of films Jananathan makes. 

Maanaadu

Director: Venkat Prabhu

Cast: Silambarasan, SJ Suryah, Kalyani Priyadarshan

The film is hugely awaited for the Venkat Prabhu–Silambarasan–Yuvan combo and is supposed to be a political comedy thriller. The makers had originally planned to release the film in May 2021, but plans are uncertain now with the new set of lockdown rules with either total lockdown or 50% occupancy.

Thalaivi

Director: AL Vijay

Cast:  Kangana Ranaut, Arvind Swami

Featuring a terrific Kangana Ranaut as Jayalalitha and Arvind Swamy as MGR, the film is sure to inspire (and also ruffle a few feathers). The trailer drew positive responses and the film was expected to release at the end of April. It has now been postponed without a new release date. 

Love Story

Director: Sekhar Kammula

Cast: Naga Chaitanya, Sai Pallavi

Originally slated to release on April 16, fans of romantic dramas may have to wait a little longer now. What could have been a perfect summer watch – with Naga Chaitanya and Sai Pallavi in the lead – is not going to hit theatres anytime soon. Will the monsoon season at least be kind to us?  

 Tuck Jagadish

Director: Shiva Nirvana

Cast: Nani, Ritu Varma

Even before the makers of Tuck Jagadish could go on a full-fledged marketing blitzkrieg, the second wave hit us badly and the team decided to push the movie to a later date (from April 23). This Nani and Ritu Varma starrer is an action film; hence, it's going to be a different ground for the Natural Star. 

 Virata Parvam

Director: Venu Udugula

Cast: Rana Daggubati, Sai Pallavi

The teaser for Virata Parvam looks promising. It'll be interesting to catch two young actors in challenging roles. Sai Pallavi and Rana Daggubati have played edgy characters in the past. But this movie is going to put a new spin on their careers and that's positive news.  The film was originally scheduled to release on April 30.

 Acharya

Director: Koratala Siva

Cast: Chiranjeevi, Ram Charan

Acharya will be welcomed with open arms and whistles in movie theatres whenever it releases. But it's not going to be the original May 13 date.  The movie stars the father-son duo Chiranjeevi and Ram Charan, after all. Here's hoping that they will hit a home run with this action drama.  

Narappa

Director: Srikanth Addala

Cast: Venkatesh, Priyamani, Prakash Raj

Narappa is a remake of the Tamil movie Asuran  which won Dhanush the National Film Award for Best Actor. Venkatesh can certainly match the aura of the Tamil star, but will the Telugu remake send a strong anti-caste message, like the original? The film's May 14 release date has now been pushed back. 

Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham

Director: Priyadarshan

Cast: Mohanlal, Arjun, Suniel Shetty, Keerthy Suresh, Manju Warrier, Prabhu

This epic stars Mohanlal as Kunjali Marakkar IV, the naval commander of the Calicut Zamorin. It must be hard to coordinate the theatrical release of a mammoth film that's releasing in several languages. It was finally going to hit screens in May when the second wave pushed it to 12 August 2021. 

Malik

Director: Mahesh Narayanan

Cast: Fahadh Faasil, Nimisha Sajayan, Joju George

The Fahadh Faasil-starrer was supposed to release on the Eid weekend of 13 May. The film tells the story of the enigmatic Sulaiman Malik who looks to be both a leader of his community and also on the wrong side of the law. There is no official news on the release date yet. 

Thuramukham

Director: Rajeev Ravi

Cast: Nivin Pauly, Indrajith Sukumaran, Joju George

Set against the backdrop of the unique Mattancherry culture and the inhuman system followed to allocate daily wage work at the harbour, the film premiered and competed at the 50th International Film Festival of Rotterdam. Also originally slated for an Eid weekend release, it has now been pushed back.