35 most anticipated South Indian films of 2024

Tamil

1. Lal Salaam: A sports drama, written and directed by Aishwarya Rajinikanth; she has written the screenplay and dialogue with Harman H. Vishnu Vishal and Vikranth star in the lead roles as cricketers while superstar Rajinikanth appears in an extended cameo as Moideen Bhai, a gangster who supports cricket. The film also stars Thambi Ramaiah, Jeevitha Rajasekhar, Thangadurai, and Kapil Dev — in a cameo. A.R. Rahman composed the soundtrack and the background score of the film.

2. GOAT: A science fiction film directed by Venkat Prabhu, it’s the 68^th film of 'Thalapathy' (the commander) Vijay after the massive success of Leo. Produced by AGS Entertainment, it stars Vijay in dual roles; he leads an ensemble cast that includes Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Sneha, Laila, Meenakshi Chaudhary, Mohan, Jayaram, Ajmal Ameer, Yogi Babu, VTV Ganesh, Vaibhav, Premgi Amaren, Aravind Akash and Ajay Raj.

3. Ayalaan: Another science fiction film, directed by R. Ravikumar and produced by Kotapadi J. Rajesh under KJR Studios. It stars Sivakarthikeyan, Rakul Preet Singh, Sharad Kelkar, Isha Koppikar, Bhanupriya, Yogi Babu, Karunakaran and Bala Saravanan, while Siddharth voices an alien. The story revolves around a lost alien, who seeks assistance from Sivakarthikeyan and gang to return to its home planet. It also marks Isha Koppikar’s return to Tamil cinema.

4. Thug Life: Kamal Haasan reunites with Mani Ratnam after a gap of three-and-a-half decades. It is widely seen as a spin-off of Nayakan Rise of Skywalker. The film also stars Jayam Ravi, Trisha Krishnan, Dulquer Salmaan. It will be co-produced by Raaj Kamal Films International and Madras Talkies.

5. Vidaa Muyarchi: An action thriller, written and directed by Magizh Thirumeni. It is produced by Subaskaran Allirajah under the production banner Lyca Productions. The film stars Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha, Regina Cassandra and Arav.

6. Viduthalai Part 2: A period crime thriller film directed by Vetrimaaran, who co-wrote the film with B. Jeyamohan. It is produced by Elfred Kumar and Vetrimaaran under the banners RS Infotainment and Grass Root Film Company.

7. Kanguva: Also known and marketed as Kanguva: A Mighty Valiant Saga, the 39th film of Suriya in a leading role is a period action drama, directed by Siruthai Siva and written by Adi Narayana. It is produced by K. E. Gnanavel Raja, V. Vamsi Krishna Reddy, and Pramod Uppalapati under the banners of Studio Green and UV Creations.

8. Thangalaan: A historical action drama film directed by Pa. Ranjith and produced by K. E. Gnanavel Raja. Based on true events and revolving around the lives of mine workers in the Kolar Gold Fields, Karnataka, it stars Vikram, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Malavika Mohanan, Pasupathy.

9. Captain Miller: An action adventure film, directed by Arun Matheswaran, and produced by Sathya Jyothi Films. A renegade Captain and his unconventional outlaws execute daring heists in the 1930s and 1940s. Miller must decide whether to continue running or confront the challenges head-on. Features Dhanush in the titular role, and Priyanka Arul Mohan, Shiva Rajkumar, among others.

10. Indian 2: S. Shankar’s long-delayed vigilante action film, produced by Lyca Productions and Red Giant Movies. A sequel to Indian (1996), it stars Kamal Haasan who reprises his role as Senapathy, an ageing freedom fighter-turned-vigilante, who fights against corruption. Its ensemble cast includes S. J. Suryah, Kajal Aggarwal, Siddharth, and Gulshan Grover,

11. Vettaiyan: Directed by T.J. Gnanavel (of Jai Bhim fame), seems to have a dream cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth, Fahadh Faasil and Rana Daggubati. An action film, it follows a retired police officer as he fights against the system.

Telugu

12. Hanu Man: A superhero film written and directed by Prasanth Varma and produced by Niranjan Reddy Kandagatla under Primeshow Entertainment. It features an ensemble cast of Teja Sajja, Amritha Aiyer, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Raj Deepak Shetty and Vinay Rai.

13. Saindhav: An action thriller film written and directed by Sailesh Kolanu, and produced by Venkat Boyanapalli under Niharika Entertainment. The cast includes Venkatesh Daggubati, Shraddha Srinath Ruhani Sharma, and Nawazuddin Siddiqui as the antagonist.

14. Naa Saami Ranga: A period action drama, directed by Vijay Binni, with original story by Joshiy. It stars Nagarjuna, Allari Naresh, Raj Tarun, Ashika Ranganath and Jisshu Sengupta in the titular characters. The original soundtrack of the film is composed by M. M. Keeravani.

15. Guntur Kaaram: An action drama, written and directed by Trivikram Srinivas, and produced by S. Radha Krishna through Haarika & Hassine Creations. It stars Mahesh Babu, Sreeleela, Meenakshi Chaudhary, Jagapathi Babu, Ramya Krishna, Jayaram, Prakash Raj, and Brahmanandam.

16. Kalki 2898 AD: A science fiction dystopian film revolving around a modern-day avatar of Vishnu, a Hindu god, who is believed to have descended to earth to protect the world from evil forces. Written and directed by Nag Ashwin and produced by C. Aswani Dutt of Vyjayanthi Movies. It stars an ensemble cast featuring Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan, Deepika Padukone, and Disha Patani.

17. Pushpa – The Rule: An action entertainer directed by Sukumar and the sequel to 2021’s tremendous hit, Pushpa: The Rise, which made Allu Arjun a pan-Indian phenomenon. Written and directed by Sukumar, and produced by Mythri Movie Makers in association with Sukumar Writings, it stars Allu Arjun as the titular character, alongside Fahadh Faasil and Rashmika Mandanna, reprising their roles.

18. Game Changer: A political action thriller film directed by S. Shankar in his Telugu directorial debut, written by Karthik Subbaraj. It stars Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, S.J. Suryah, among others.

19. Family Star: Directed by Parasuram Petla, this stars Vijay Deverakonda, Mrunal Thakur Ajay Ghosh, and Divyansha Kaushik. A romantic film, this is likely to explore gender dynamics. In the teaser, we see Vijay doing household work, kitchen duties, and dropping children off at school. In the next scene, he is seen sitting across from a man who questions his masculinity for working at home.

20. G2: A sequel to writer-actor Adivi Sesh’s 208 blockbuster film, Goodachari, it is an action spy thriller. It has been titled G2 and the script is written by the actor himself. Directed by Vinay Kumar. Cast includes Sobhita Dhulipala and Banita Sandhu.

21. Devara-Part 1: An action-drama film written and directed by Koratala Siva. Produced by Sudhakar Mikkilineni and Kosaraju Harikrishna under the banners Yuvasudha Arts and N. T. R. Jr. — his first after RRR. Cast includes Janhvi Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Shine Tom, Srikanth and Murali Sharma.

Kannada

22. UI: Marking Upendra’s return to direction, it is one of the most talked about Kannada films of the year. A pan-India release, the film has generated the buzz for its use of 3D Body Scan, and more than 400 cameras, which makes UI the first film in Asia to use that many cameras. Upendra also became the first Kannada actor to get 3D scan, like Rajinikanth and Prabhas had done in Enthiran, 2.0 and Baahuabali franchise.

23. Richard Anthony: To be produced by KGF and Hombale Films, makers of Salaar, it follows the life of a courageous child. Despite being presumed dead, he is still alive. Things change as he unearths mysteries. Written and directed by Rakshit Shetty, it stars, besides him, Rishab Shetty and Kishore Kumar G.

24. Kantara Chapter 1: A prequel to the 2022 grosser Kantara, which became the talking point of the year. A period action thriller film, set during the reign of Kadambas of Banavasi written, directed and stars Rishab Shetty, and produced by Vijay Kiragandur, under Hombale Films.

25. Yuva: A drama film directed by Santhosh Ananddram and produced by Vijay Kiragandur under the banner Hombale Films. The film marks the fourth collaboration of Santhosh Ananddram and Hombale Films. Cast includes Yuva Rajkumar as Yuva (his debut), Sapthami Gowda, Achyuth Kumar, Prakash Raj and Sundeep Malani.

26. Bagheera: An action entertainer written by Prashanth Neel and directed by Dr Suri. Sri Murali (of Ugramm fame) plays the lead role. It was shot extensively in Karnataka and Hyderabad, with major shoots happening on the outskirts of Bengaluru and in Mysuru. It is bankrolled by Hombale Films, which produced the hit KGF franchise

Malayalam

27. Aattam — The Play: Directed by Anand Ekarshi, it stars Vinay Forrt, Kalabhavan Shajohn, Shihab and Nandan Unni as lead characters. It opened to critical acclaim at international film festivals in 2023. And will have a theatrical release on January 5. The storyline: after a party amongst a theatre group, their sole actress, Anjali is subjected to a crime by one of the men in the group. A meeting is called for. In trying to reach a consensus, stories unravel, suspicions surface and clamour ensues.

28. Malaikottai Vaaliban: An action drama fantasy, directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery, it shows how the life of a legendary man, with his struggles and triumphs, paves the way for the next generations. Produced by Mohanlal (who also stars in the film), Shibu Baby John, Siddharth Anand Kumar, and others. Music by Prashant Pillai and screenplay by P.S. Rafeeque.

29. Barroz: A 3D fantasy drama directed by Mohanlal in his directorial debut. It is based on the novel Barroz: Guardian of D'Gama's Treasure by Jijo Punnoose (he scripted the iconic My Dear Kuttichathan/Chhota Chetan, and produced by Antony Perumbavoor of Aashirvad Cinemas.

30. Bramayugam: A horror film, written and directed by Rahul Sadasivan, with dialogues by T. D. Ramakrishnan. It has been jointly produced by Chakravarthy Ramachandra and S. Sashikanth under Night Shift Studios and YNOT Studios. It stars Mammootty, Arjun Ashokan, Sidharth Bharathan, Amalda Liz.

31. Turbo: An action comedy directed by Vysakh, starring Mammootty, Raj B. Shetty, Sunil, and Anjana Jayaprakash. Written by Midhun Manuel Thomas, who made the thriller Anjaam Pathiraa (2020) — about a shadowy serial killer who targets cops.

32. Bazooka: An actioner, directed by Deeno Dennis (his debut), and starring Mammootty, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Shine Tom Chacko, and Hakkim Shah.

33. Aadujeevitham (The Goat Life): A survival drama film written, directed, and co-produced by Blessy. The film is an international co-production involving companies in India and the United States, and features dialogues in Arabic and Malayalam languages. Starring Prithviraj Sukumaran, it is an adaptation of the 2008 Malayalam novel Aadujeevitham by Benyamin, which is based on a true incident.

34. Varshangalkku Shesham: Directed by Vineeth Sreenivasan, and starring Pranav Mohanlal, Dhyan Sreenivasan, Aju Varghese, and Kalyani Priyadarshan. Set in a college, it tells the story of four friends who are on the verge of graduating.

35. L2: Empuraan: An action thriller directed by Prithviraj Sukumaran and written by Murali Gopy. It is the second instalment in a planned trilogy, and a sequel to their 2019 blockbuster hit, Lucifer. However, its release date has not been finalised, so we may have to wait for another year for this.

(Compiled by Nawaid Anjum)