The South Indian cinema has been hard-hit by the ongoing pandemic in the past couple of weeks, with digital releases and movies not going great on the box office.
However this year, 2021, has been lined up with a bunch of promising and highly recommended movies to watch out for, from 'Malik' and ‘Radhe Shyam’ to 'The Priest' and ‘Drishyam 2’.Here are some of the highly anticipated and most awaited Tollywood movies, that are definitely worth a watch and the ones that you won’t wanna miss.
#1 Malik
Written and directed by Mahesh Narayanan, the movie stars the ‘CU Soon' sensation, Fahadh Faasil in lead role alongside other supporting actors include, Joju George, Nimisha Sajayan, Dileesh Pothan and Maala Parvathi. This crime thriller went on floors on May 13, 2021, and revolves around the issues of land acquisition. In conversation with the ‘Times Of India', director Mahesh talked about the film, revealing, “At its core, Malik is a political thriller. The story is relevant because in Kerala, there has been an increase of land acquisition cases, especially in sensitive coastal areas.”
#2 Radhe Shyam
Shot amidst the picturesque locations and scenic beauty of Europe, ‘Radhe Shyam’ is a period romance drama, released on April 28, 2021, the same date when the sequel of Bahubali hit the theatres. Starring the very popular duo, Prabhas and Pooja Hegde in lead roles, this one if hands down one of the most anticipated movie of the year, with simultaneous releases in both, Telugu and Hindi languages.
#3 Master
Directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, this January 13, 2021 release deems to be the highly appreciated and awaited South Indian action thriller of the year, and features some Berry popular actors like Vijay, Vijay Sethupathi, Malavika Mohanan, Arjun Das and Andrea Jeremiah in pivotal roles. The brilliant storyline revolves around an alcoholic school teacher and his confrontation with a dreaded gangster, who makes use of children to commit some brutal crimes.
#4 Minnal Murali
This upcoming Tollywood superhero action-adventure features Tovino Thomas, Aju Varghese, Harisree Ashokan and Guru Somasundaram in major roles and has been directed by Basil Joseph. The official release date of this one is yet to be disclosed, however according to certain reports, ‘Minnal Murali' will be a South Indian remake of the epic Hollywood film ‘Fastest Man Alive', featuring the lead character to be faster than a lightning bolt and stronger than a truck.
#5 Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham
Having rolled on floors on March 26, 2021, this Malayalam historical war film has been directed by Priyadarshan, and features Mohanlal in lead, titular role, alongside supporting actors who include, Suniel Shetty, Prabhu, Manju Warrier, and Keerthy Suresh. The story revolves around the journey of the naval admiral, Kunjali Marakkar IV, who bravely withstood the Portuguese army and fought a battle against them with utmost valour to defend the Malabar coast from invasion. Set in the 16th century, this one proves to be quite promising and is a must watch!
#6 Kurup
Inspired by the life and journey of Sukumara Kurup, who remains Kerala's most-wanted and one of the highly dreaded gangster of all times, this biopic has been directed by Srinath Rajendran and features Dulquer Salmaan, Sobhita Dhulipala, Indrajith Sukumaran, Shine Tom Chacko and Sunny Wayne. ‘Kurup' will release in five different languages and is definitely and highly recommended!
#7 The Priest
This upcoming Malayalam mystery thriller has been directed by Jofin T Chacko and stars Mammootty, Manju Warrier and Nikhila Vimal in lead roles, among many others. This one was scheduled to go on floors in 2020, but due to unforeseen pandemic-related circumstances, it will now hit the theatres this year, however the official release date is not revealed yet. ‘The Priest’ has already been a hot topic circulating on social media, after Dulquer Salmaan shared the first poster of the film, leaving fans in surprise due to it’s uncanny similarity to the look of Hollywood’s ‘Breaking Bad’.
#8 Drishyam 2
Written by Mohanlal and directed by Jeethu Joseph, the blockbuster thriller ‘Drishyam’ is all set to return with it’s sequel, only this time it will not release the big screen, but will go for an OTT launch, available for the audience to stream on Amazon Prime this year. With the same cast as before, ‘Drishyam 2’ will be back with double the action, thrill and entertainment, with the story picking up from where the previous one left.