'Valimai' To 'Acharya': Ten Movies From South Back On Track With New Release Dates

With Covid cases rising rapidly in the last two months and because of the third wave, many big budget films from the southern film industries had postponed their release dates. However, with the apparent decline in cases filmmakers have taken the opportunity to announce the release dates of their projects that got postponed earlier in wake of the Omicron variant. Unlike before, the filmmakers now no longer wait for special occasions to release their much-aspired projects.

Here is a list of ten much-awaited south films that are set to release in theatres in February, March and April.

‘Valimai’

‘Valimai’, the long-awaited action film from Tamil actor Ajith Kumar, was set to release on January 14, coinciding with the Pongal festival. The arrival of the third wave of Covid infections, however, had thrown the makers' plans into disarray.It was recently annouonced by the producer Boney Kapoor that the film will release on February 24.The producer shared the news on his Twitter account.

‘Bheemla Nayak’

To capitalise on the Sankranti festival, actor Pawan Kalyan and Rana Daggubati-starrer was set to hit theatres on January 12. The release date had been pushed back to February 25, not because of the Covid-19 scare, but as a goodwill gesture to give director SS Rajamouli's ‘RRR’ and actor Prabhas' ‘Radhe Shyam’, both of which were aimed at the Sankranti crowd, some breathing room. The new wave of infections, on the other hand, rendered Pawan's good deed pointless by upsetting the box office once more. ‘Bheemla Nayak's’ producers are set to release the film on February 25. In case of any unforeseen problems, the movie will hit the theatres on April 1.

‘Etharkkum Thunindhavan’

Pandiraj's upcoming Tamil-language action thriller ‘Etharkkum Thunindhavan’ is written and directed by Pandiraj and produced by Sun Pictures. Actors Suriya and Priyanka Arul Mohan star in the film, with Vinay Rai, Sathyaraj, Saranya Ponvannan, Soori, and M. S. Bhaskar in supporting roles. Suriya's first theatrical release in over two years will be this film. Pandiraj's film, which he wrote and directed, is nearing completion. The film will be released in theatres on March 10.

‘Radhe Shyam’

‘Radhe Shyam’ is an upcoming Indian period romantic drama film directed by Radha Krishna Kumar, starring actors Prabhas and Pooja Hegde. It is a bi-lingual film is shot in both Telugu and Hindi. UV Creations, Gopi Krishna Movies, and T-Series are producing the film.  The Prabhas-starring film has been in the works for more than two years. It is expected to be released in the second week of March at the earliest. The film will be released in theatres on March 11.

‘James’

Late actor Puneeth Rajkumar's final film before his untimely death in October 2021 was ‘James’. The Kannada film industry has decided not to release any other films alongside James as a tribute to the late movie icon. It is expected that other industries in the area will follow suit. 'James' is set to hit theatres on March 17, which also happens to be Rajkumar's birthday. Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Hindi versions of the Kannada film will also be released.

‘RRR’

‘RRR’ is an upcoming Indian period action-drama film directed by S. S. Rajamouli and produced by DVV Entertainments' D. V. V. Danayya. Actors Junior NTR., Ram Charan, Ajay Devgn, Alia Bhatt, and Olivia Morris star in the film, which also stars Samuthirakani, Alison Doody, Ray Stevenson, and Shriya Saran in supporting roles. ‘RRR's’ producers had previously considered two release dates: March 18 and April 28. They had stated that the film would be released in theatres on one of these dates. With ‘James’ set for a solo release on March 17 and the possibility of the box office becoming crowded with other big films by the end of April, the film is set to release on March 25.

‘DON’

Cibi Chakaravarthi's directorial debut, ‘DON’, is an upcoming Indian Tamil-language action-comedy film produced by under the studios Lyca Productions and Sivakarthikeyan Productions. Actors Priyanka Arul Mohan, S. J. Suryah, Samuthirakani, and Soori co-star alongside actor Sivakarthikeyan.  Sivakarthikeyan officially confirmed March 25 as the release date for ‘DON’ just hours before the ‘RRR’ announcement.

‘Beast’

Nelson Dilipkumar's ‘Beast’ is an upcoming Indian Tamil-language black comedy action-thriller film. In addition to actors Vijay and Pooja Hegde, the film stars Selvaraghavan, Yogi Babu, Shine Tom Chacko, Redin Kingsley, VTV Ganesh, Aparna Das, Lilliput Faruqui, Ankur Ajit Vikal, Sathish Krishnan, Redin Kingsley, and Bjorn Surrao. The release date for the upcoming film has yet to be confirmed. However, the producers have already stated that it will be released in April. It is expected to release on April 14 or April 28. The film is currently in post-production and the release is scheduled on April 14.

‘KGF: Chapter 2’

Prashanth Neel's upcoming Indian Kannada-language period drama action film ‘K.G.F: Chapter 2’ is written and directed by Prashanth Neel and produced by Hombale Films. It is a sequel to the 2018 film ‘K.G.F: Chapter 1’. It is the second instalment of a two-part series. Yash, Sanjay Dutt, Srinidhi Shetty, Raveena Tandon, and Prakash Raj star in the film. The makers of the Yash-starrer don't appear to be willing to change their minds about the film's release date. As previously stated, the film will be released in theatres on April 14.

‘Acharya’

Koratala Siva wrote and directed the upcoming Indian Telugu-language action-drama film ‘Acharya’. It is produced by Matinee Entertainment and Konidela Production Company. Actors Chiranjeevi, Ram Charan, Pooja Hegde, and Kajal Aggarwal star in the film. In order to avoid a clash with Charan’s movie ‘RRR’, the producers altered their release schedule. It will now be released in theatres on April 29.