Rajinikanth, Dhanush, Nayanthara, Suriya: A Busy Year Ahead for Kollywood A-Listers

It’s April already and Kollywood’s biggest stars are putting in grueling shifts as they move from set to set, working on a plethora of films that are slated for release later this year. A lot of expectations are riding on these upcoming Tamil movies with extravagant budgets and high stakes. Variety India zooms in on the films that top stars are working on and their upcoming releases this year 

Rajinikanth 

‘Jailer 2’: The action-comedy will feature Rajin, Mohanlal, and Shiva Rajkumar reprising their roles. The film directed by Nelson Dilipkumar is slotted for release on June 12. 

‘KH x RK Reunion’: A massive action drama in collaboration with Kamal Haasan, directed by Nelson Dilipkumar, will start filming in August this year. 

‘Thalaivar 73’: While the plot remains under wraps, the film, which also stars Basil Joseph, will be directed by Cibi Chakaravarthi and is expected to start production soon. 

Kamal Haasan 

‘KH x RK Reunion’: An action drama in collaboration with Rajinikanth, directed by Nelson Dilipkumar. 

‘KH 237’: A high–octane thriller set against a military backdrop and directed by Anbumani and Arivumani; will begin shooting in May. 

‘Seyon’: This rural entertainer marks a reunion with Sivakarthikeyan and has been directed by Sivakumar Murugesan and will release later this year. 

‘Vikram 2’: The sequel to his 2022 hit, Kamal reprises his role as Agent Vikram with Suriya joining him. The movie is being directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj with no official release date yet. 

Suriya 

‘Vikram 2’: The sequel to the 2022 hit, Kamal reprises his role as Agent Vikram with Suriya joining him. The movie is being directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj with no official release date yet. 

‘Karuppu’: Directed by RJ Balaji, this film is touted as a mass entertainer where Suriya plays a character fighting for marginalized communities. Trisha plays the female lead, and the film will release on May 14. 

‘Vishwanath & Sons’: This emotional family drama has been directed by Venky Atluri and stars Mamitha Basu. The film will be released on July 6. 

Chiyaan Vikram 

‘Chiyaan 63’: An action-drama that has been directed by Bodi K Rajkumar will commence shooting soon. 

‘Dhruva Natchathiram': Chapter One’: Directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon, this spy thriller with Aishwarya Rajesh in the lead is ready for release, but no date has been fixed.  

Vijay Sethupathi  

‘Slum Dug: 33 Temple Road’: This action thriller, directed by Puri Jagannadh, has a stellar star cast that includes Tabu and Duniya Vijay. The film is slated for release on May 14 

‘Pocket Novel’: A fantasy thriller directed by Thiagarajan Kamaraja, the film also stars Malavika Mohanan as the female lead and is scheduled to release on September 27 

‘Arasan’: The actor teams up with Silambarasan in this Vetri Maaran-directed crime drama, where the actor plays a cop. The film is slated for release later this year. Priya Mohan plays the leading lady. 

'Untitled Romantic Drama': With Sai Pallavi, directed by Mani Ratnam. The film has just begun shooting. 

Dhanush 

‘Kara’: An intense action-drama directed by Vignesh Raja and has Mamitha Baiju in a prominent role. The film is slated for release on April 30 

‘Kalam:’ A biopic based on the life of former Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam, directed by Om Raut. Slated for release later this year. 

‘D55’: This is Dhanush’s 55th film. Highlights unsung heroes and is directed by Rajkumar Periasamy and stars Sai Pallavi as the female lead. No release date has been decided. 

Sivakarthikeyan 

‘Seyon’: This rural entertainer marks a reunion with Kamal Haasan and has been directed by Sivakumar Murugesan and will release later this year 

Karthi 

‘Kaithi 2’: Lokesh Kanagaraj's action sequel to the blockbuster ‘Kaithi,’ continuing Dilli's story. The film is currently under production. 

‘Marshal’: A period action drama set in the 1960s, and co-starring Kalyani Priyadarshan, the film has been directed by Tamizh. It is expected to be released during Deepavali this year. 

‘Sardar 2’: A spy thriller directed by P.S. Mithran, also stars Malavika Mohanan and Ashika Ranganath. The film is expected to be released later this year. 

‘HIT: The Fourth Case’: Karthi stars in this Telugu mystery thriller as ACP Veerappan. The film is directed by Sailesh Kolani and is scheduled for a September release. 

‘Benz’: Another action directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, which is in the filming stage.  The film also stars Raghava Lawrence. 

Jayam Ravi 

‘Genie’: A major fantasy-drama starring Jayam Ravi, Krithi Shetty and Wamiqa Gabbi. The film is directed by Bhuvanesh Arjunan and is scheduled for release later this year. 

‘Benz’: This is an action thriller directed by Bhagyaraj Kannan; the film is expected to release later this year. 

‘Thani Oruvan 2’: Sequel to the blockbuster thriller, directed by Mohan Raja, is currently under production.  

‘An Ordinary Man’:  Ravi is directing a film starring Yogi Babu, part of his new production ventures for 2026-2027.  

Arya 

‘Mr. X’: A spy-action thriller directed by Manu Anand, featuring Arya alongside Gautham Karthik and Manju Warrier. The film is releasing on April 17. 

‘Arya 40’: A romantic comedy directed by Nikhil Murray and featuring Vaishnavi Chaitanya in the lead.  The film is currently under production. 

‘Sarpatta Parambarai 2’: A sequel to his popular boxing film, currently in pre-production. It is being directed by Pa Ranjith. 

Ajith Kumar 

‘AK 64’: He is reuniting with director Adhik Ravichandran for this film and shooting is expected to commence soon. 

Vijay

‘Jana Nayagan’: This political action-thriller has been directed by Vinoth and has Pooja Hegde in the lead alongside Vijay, who plays a police officer. The film is slated for release soon. 

Nayanthara 

‘Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups': Yash's event film is a potent crime thriller with a blockbuster star cast that includes Yash, Kiara Advani and Huma Qureshi. The film directed by Geetu Mohandas will release on June 4. 

‘Mookuthi Amman 2’: This devotional fantasy film is directed by Sundar C and co-stars Duniya Vijay. The release date is not yet confirmed. 

‘Hi’:  A Tamil romantic drama directed by Vishnu Edavan has Kavin as the male lead. The film has no release date yet. 

‘Patriot’: A highly anticipated multi-star cast film with Mammootty and Mohanlal, this political drama directed by Mahesh Narayanan will release on May 1. 

‘Dear Students’: This Malayalam romantic campus drama with Nivin Pauly has been directed by Sandeep Kumar and George Philip Roy and is slotted for a July 24 release 

‘SVC63’: A hardcore action drama with Bollywood actor Salman Khan and directed by Vamshi Paidipally, is currently under production. 

Sai Pallavi 

‘Ek Din’: A romantic Hindi drama with Junaid Khan has been directed by Sunil Pandey and is scheduled for release on May 1. 

‘Ramayan Part 1’: She plays the role of Sita opposite Ranbir Kapoor, who plays Ram. This epic movie has been directed by Nitesh Tiwari, with a confirmed release date of November 8. 

D55’: This is Dhanush’s 55th film, and it highlights unsung heroes. Directed by Rajkumar Periasamy, the film has Sai Pallavi as the female lead. No release date has been decided. 

‘Untitled Romantic Drama’: A film with Vijay Sethupathi directed by Mani Ratnam. The film has just begun shooting.