From Master to Maanadu: Top 10 highly anticipated Tamil movies to watch out in 2021

With 2020 coming to an end, it is time to welcome the new year and to prep for new releases which have been stalled due to the pandemic. The ongoing pandemic has been a true nightmare for the film industry this year.

However, many big stars have manor releases lined up in hopes that the new year brings fans back to the theatres. Here is a list of films that have been planned for 2021.

Indian 2

This Kamal Haasan starrer helmed by Shankar is a sequel to the 1996 film. The film's shooting had begun in January and the production came to a grinding halt when an accident on the sets killed three people.

Post which the lockdown was imposed and the film's shooting was unable to proceed. In a recent statement, Kamal Haasan had stated that he looks to wrap up the film by January 2021 as he would like to focus on the Tamil Nadu general elections that will take place in May 2021. Bankrolled by Lyca Productions, the film features Kajal Aggarwal, Siddharth, and Rakul Preet Singh in key roles.

Master

This is undoubtedly the most awaited film to hit screens next year. The film helmed by Lokesh Kanagaraj stars Thalapathy Vijay and Makkal Selvan Vijay Sethupathi in lead roles. Master was initially planned to release on April 9, 2020, but due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the makers were forced to push the release of the film.

The film is now scheduled to hit screens on Jan 13, 2021 ahead of Pongal. The film has created new records already even before its release, the teaser of the film which had released on Diwali had crossed 25 million views in a span of 24 hours. The film became the most tweeted film of 2020. The film also stars Andrea, Malvika Mohan, Arjun Das, Shantanu Bhagyaraj, and Nasser in pivotal roles.

Vikram

Post Indian 2 Kamal Haasan will also be seen in Lokesh Kangaraj's thriller Vikram. The teaser of Vikram was released on the occasion of Kamal Haasan's 66th birthday. Billed to be a political thriller, the film will be shot across Chennai and Indi from the looks of the teaser fans will get to see Kamal Haasan as a RAW agent.

The latest development is that Fahadh Faisal has been roped in to play the antagonist, The film is bankrolled by Kamal Haasan's Raaj Kamal Films and has Anirudh scoring the music. The makers are aiming for a 2021 summer release. Kamal Haasan was in the plan to finish off all his film commitments before the 2021 Tamil Nadu general elections.

Valimai

Thala Ajith will be seen next in Valimai which is directed by H Vinoth, the film will see Ajith playing a cop role. The film was expected to release in early 2021, however, the makers have planned to release the film in the summer of 2021.

Currently, the shooting of the film is underway in Hyderabad and the cast and crew of the film are yet to complete the remaining sequence. Interestingly, as per the latest tweet of director H Vinoth, Valimai's highly awaited update will be out in the days to come. The star cast for the film includes Huma Qureshi, Kartikeya Gummakonda, Pavel Navageethan, and Yogi Babu. Yuvan Shankar Raja will be scoring the music for the film and is bankrolled by Boney Kapoor.

Navarasa

After the massive of success of Soorari Pootru, actor Suriya has joined hands with director Gautham Vasudev Menon for web series called Navarasa. Navarasa, which will stream on Netflix, is an attempt to raise funds for industry members who lost their livelihood during the lockdown. Moreover, Navarasa is a web series where nine directors will direct nine stories based on nine rasas (emotions).

Directors KV Anand, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Bejoy Nambiar, Ponram, Karthik Subbaraj, Halitha Shameem, Karthick Naren, Rathindran R Prasad, and Arvind Swami will be helming the stories for Navarasa. Suriya, Revathy, Prasanna, Nithya Menen, Parvathy, Siddharth, Vijay Sethupathi, Prakash Raj, Vikranth, Gautham Karthik, Simha, Poorna, Ashok Selvan, and Aishwarya Rajesh will be working on the anthology.

Annaatthe

Superstar Rajinikanth will be seen in Siruthai Siva's Annatthe, which is highly anticipated by all Thalaivar fans. The crew had already completed 60 per cent of the film before the lockdown and has resumed shooting in December at Hyderabad. It was only a few months back when Rajini announced that he would enter politics. Rajinikanth is expected to wrap up his portions in a single stretch as he would get busy with campaigning for his yet-to-be-launched political party in early 2021.

Annaatthe has a stellar cast including Khushbu, Meena, Prakash Raj, Nayanthara, Keerthy Suresh, Sathish, and Soori. D Imman will be scoring the music for the film. The film is bankrolled by Sun Pictures which has earlier produced Rajini's Petta and Enthiran. Rumours are making the rounds that Annatthhe will be Rajini's last film in his illustrious career.

Thalapathy 65

Post the release of Master Thalapathy Vijay will be seen in Nelson Dhilipkumar's film tentatively titled 'Thalapathy 65'. The official teaser of the film which had released recently stirred a wave of excitement among fans who are waiting anxiously for the film. The teaser also featured a couple of guns and bullets which indicate that Thalapathy 65 will be an action-thriller film.

The final cast of the film is not decided, however, there was a strong buzz that Bollywood actors Deepika Padukone and John Abraham will be playing the female lead and the antagonist, respectively. The film which will be made on a high budget will be bankrolled by Kalanathi Maran's Sun Pictures and have music composed by Anirudh Ravichander.

Maanadu

Director Venkat Prabhu, who didn't have any notable release in the past 5 years, will be making a comeback with Maadau featuring Simbu in the lead role. The project faced various challenges before it went on the floors. One of the major problems that halted the progress of the project was Simbu's relationship with producer Suresh Kamatchi.

Accusing Simbu of lack of professionalism, there was even an announcement that the movie will be made with a different actor in the lead role. The first look of the film, which was released earlier, garnered a lot of positive response from fans and critics. Touted to be a political thriller, the film's music will be composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja and has Kalyani Priyadarshan playing the female lead. The film also stars SJ Suryah, Bharathiraja, Manoj Bharathiraja, SA Chandrasekhar, and Premgi Amaren.

Cobra

Chiyaan Vikram's Cobra helmed by Ajay Gnanamuthu is highly anticipated by fans and the first look had garnered many positive responses from fans. Vikram is slated to be seen in more than 7 looks in Cobra. The filmmakers had plans to release the movie during the summer of 2020, but the pandemic spoiled the release plans.

The filmmakers are expected to wrap up production by the end of this year and the film is expected to release in early 2021. This film also marks the debut of former Indian cricketer Irrfan Pathan who will be seen essaying the role of an Interpol officer.

The film also stars KS Ravikumar, Srinidhi Shetty, Mrinalini, Kanika, Padmapriya, and Babu Antony. It is produced by Lalith Kumar's 7 Screen Studios and will be released in Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi. The music for the film is composed by AR Rahman.

Ponniyan Selvan

Mani Ratnam's Magnum Opus Ponniyan Selvan is based on the novel written by Kalki Krishnamoorthy based on the life of Raja Raja Chozhan I. The film has a huge star cast including Chiyaan Vikram, Jayam Ravi, Karthi, Ashwin Kakumanu, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Trisha, and Aishwarya Lekshmi.

The film was initially shot in Thailand before the pandemic situation and the second schedule is currently underway in Hyderabad. The film will also be shot in various locations in India. Bankrolled by Lyca Productions and Madras Talkies, the film is written and directed by ace filmmaker Mani Ratnam. AR Rahman has been roped in to compose music for the historical flick. Mani Ratnam has planned to release the film in two parts.