Back-to-Back Unexpected Hurdles for Kollywood

Pongal season is usually a happy time for Tamil people. But this year, there's not a single Tamil movie that's really making noise to entertain people. Because of delays with Jana Nayagan and last-minute issues with Parashakthi, there's a lot of talk that Tamil cinema is facing some problems.

Recently, Karthi's movie, Va Vathiyaar, also ran into trouble.

 The Madras High Court has ordered the movie's rights to be sold publicly to recover about 21 crores that the producer allegedly didn't pay to the financier. Until that money is paid back, the court has stopped the film from being shown anywhere, including theatres, OTT, and digital platforms.

As for Prakashakti, it got the censor certificate just a day before its release.

 Because of that, it's coming out only in Tamil, which is a big concern. If the movie gets bad reviews, it might not do well in Telugu states when it's released there later. So, it needs strong positive reviews to do well in Telugu states and other areas too.

Jana Nayagan is also in trouble.

 The Madras High Court's division bench has paused a previous order that asked the CBFC to give a UA certificate to the film. The next hearing is set for January 21, after the Pongal holidays.

In this tough situation, Tamil cinema is going through a big challenge with several big films facing unexpected issues.

 Hope this problem gets fixed soon.

Chiru’s MSG Hits Half Million, Set For Record Opening

Megastar Chiranjeevi's much-anticipated family movie, Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu, is set to release on the 12th of this month, with overseas premieres happening on the 11th. The movie's advance bookings in North America started well before the release and have already reached over $500,000 in that region alone.

This makes Chiranjeevi's fastest movie ever to reach the half-million-dollar mark, showing a huge level of fan excitement even before the film hits theaters.

 Industry insiders are expecting the premiere and first-day collections to bring in nearly a million dollars.

The movie is doing well based on strong reports, mainly because of the great response to its trailer and songs.

 Fans and movie lovers are excited to see Chiranjeevi in a stylish, classic look that has already made a big impact with audiences.

The excitement is further boosted by Venkatesh's special appearance, which has increased the buzz and raised the hopes of moviegoers.

Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu Movie, Release Date, Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu Cast and Crew

Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu

2h 44m |  UA13+

Genre: Action, Comedy, Drama

Language: Telugu

Release date

January 12, 2026

Cast

Chiranjeevi

Nayanthara

Daggubati Venkatesh

Catherine Tresa

Crew

Director, Writer

Anil Ravipudi

Producer

Sahu Garapati

Sushmita Konidela

S Krishna

executive producer

Editor

Tammiraju

Composer

Bheems Ceciroleo

Cinematographer

Sameer Reddy

Production Designer

A.S. Prakash

Visual Effects

Vijay Das

visual effects supervisor

Lavan & Kushan

Narendra Kumar Logisa

Casting Department

Muta Gangadhar

casting coordinator

Music Department

Bhaskar Batla

lyricist

Shweta Mohan

playback singer

Udit Narayan

playback singer

Choreography

New 

Vijay Polaki

choreography

Additional Crew

Umesh Kaushik

promotions

Vamsi Shekar

PRO

Manoj Valluri

Digital Marketing

Country of origin

India

Raja Saab Premieres Trigger Chaos at Hyd Theatres

 Prabhas's film, The Raja Saab, is now showing in theaters worldwide this Friday with high hopes for its box office.

 The team had arranged all the needed approvals for ticket price increases and premiere events well before the release. They were also planning a lot of special showings in Telugu states, where the movie is getting a lot of attention.

Premiere shows started across Andhra Pradesh from 9 PM on Thursday.

 However, there was a last-minute problem in Hyderabad because the government order was delayed. This caused big confusion for ticket booking apps and created chaos at some theaters in the city.

Fans of Prabhas got frustrated with the delay in the premiere shows and stormed into theaters, asking the management to start the shows right away.

 Unfortunately, the premiere show bookings also started late, making the situation even more confusing.

The situation at Vimal Theatre got worse as a large group of fans gathered outside the theater because there was no clear information about the shows.

 Even though bookings opened for shows starting at 11:30 PM, ticket prices were at regular rates, and there was no clarity on when the first shows would start in Hyderabad.

Additionally, some popular single-screen theaters started canceling shows due to the huge crowd both inside and outside the theaters.

Hyderabad is definitely the most important market for Telugu cinema.

 Because of poor planning, the makers messed up the premiere shows and really disappointed the fans. This will likely hurt the film's first day earnings. The government should have released the order much earlier to avoid such issues.

Directed by Maruthi, the horror movie features Sanjay Dutt, Zarina Wahab, Malavika Mohanan, Nidhhi Agerwal, and Riddhi Kumar as the female leads.

Congress Stands by Vijay’s Jana Nayagan; Alliance Buzz Intensifies

Thalapathy Vijay is back in cinemas with his film Jana Nayagan, which was originally planned to be released on January 9. But now the release has been delayed because there were issues with the censorship process.

Some of Vijay's fans believe the central government is using political pressure to slow down the film's release.

 However, the Congress party has shown support for Vijay. A senior Congress leader from Tamil Nadu said that the controversy around Vijay's film has raised concerns about political misuse of power. While political disagreements are normal, using art as a tool for political gain is wrong.

The people of Tamil Nadu do not accept using cinema for political reasons.

 They are asking for art and entertainment to be respected, not used as weapons in political fights. The delay in the film is caused by pressure on authorities, which is not fair to the producers and fans. They want politics to stay away from art and for creative freedom to be respected.

This comes after TVK leaders mentioned that Rahul Gandhi was the first to support Thalapathy during the Karur incident.

 Now, with Congress supporting Vijay in the Jana Nayagan issue, it seems like there is growing friendship between TVK and Congress.

Jana Nayagan Movie, Release Date, Jana Nayagan Cast and Crew

Jana Nayagan

Genre: Action, Drama, Political

Release Date: 9 Jan, 2026

Language: Tamil, Telugu

Cast

Vijay

Bobby Deol

Pooja Hegde

Mamitha Baiju

Prakash Raj

Gautham Menon

Priyamani

Narain

Crew

Director

H. Vinoth

Producer

Venkat K. Narayana (KVN)

Musician

Anirudh Ravichander

Co Producer

Jagadish Palanisamy

Co Producer

N. K. Lohith

Parasakthi Movie, Release Date, Parasakthi Cast and Crew

Parasakthi

Genre: Action, Drama, Period, Political

Language: Tamil, Telugu

Release date

10 January 2026

Cast

Sivakarthikeyan

Sree Leela

Jayam Ravi

Atharvaa Murali

Crew

Director

Sudha Kongara Prasad

Producer

Aakash Baskaran

Music by

G. V. Prakash Kumar

Cinematographer

Ravi K. Chandran

Production House

Dawn Pictures

Screenplay by

Sudha Kongara

Arjun Nadesan

Ganeshaa

Dialogues by

Sudha Kongara

Arjun Nadesan

Madhan Karky

Shan Karuppusamy

Story by

Mathimaran Pugazhendhi

Edited by

Sathish Suriya

Production

company

Dawn Pictures

Distributed by Red Giant Movies

Running time

161 minutes

Country

India

Budget

₹150–250 crore