If two festivals are of primary importance in Tamil cinema, they are undoubtedly Pongal and Deepavali. Heading to the movies after bursting crackers and wearing new clothes is a tradition for almost every film buff in Tamil Nadu. And as these festive seasons are also the best time to bring in most of the audiences to the theatres, the releases scheduled around the time are mostly those of stars.
Initially, it was MGR and Sivaji Ganesan's films. Then Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan. Further, this went on to Vijay and Ajith and boiled down to the releases of Dhanush, Suriya, Silambarasan, and more. Of late, budding stars like Sivakarthikeyan, Karthi and Vijay Sethupathi have been having their films open in theatres for the festival of lights.
Let us take a look at the Deepavali releases of the past three years. Sivakarthikeyan's Prince and Karthi's Sardar were the notable releases in 2022. In 2023, it was Jigarthanda DoubleX, featuring both Raghava Lawrence and SJ Suryah, and Japan, which marked Karthi's 25th. Last year, it was again Sivakarthikeyan who had the release of Amaran, alongside Ravi Mohan's Brother. One budding actor, Kavin, came into the competition last year itself with his Bloody Beggar.
But this year, the fireworks look a little different. Pradeep Ranganathan, Harish Kalyan and Dhruv Vikram are the rising heroes whose films have secured the Deepavali release window of October 17. In fact, Pradeep's Dude, as well as LIK, is said to be released during the time, with some reports claiming that the latter will be postponed. Dude is helmed by Keertiswaran and also stars Mamitha Baiju. The film is set to be a romantic action comedy featuring Pradeep and Mamitha as event management company owners.
For Dhruv Vikram, it is Bison Kaalamaadan, helmed by Mari Selavaraj and co-starring Anupama Parameswaran and Rajisha Vijayan. The film is a sports drama, with the plot details kept under wraps.
Lastly, Harish Kalyan, who is fresh off back-to-back hits, Parking and Lubber Pandhu, has the release of his long-awaited Diesel, in which he will be seen alongside Athulya Ravi. Shanmugam Muthusamy is the director of the film, which is an action thriller. Also releasing alongside these films are Gautham Menon-Samuthirakani's Carmeni Selvam and Natty's Kambi Kadna Kadhai.
For perhaps the first time in recent memory, Deepavali isn’t about megastar clashes but about fresh faces and new-age stories. The festival that once revolved around box-office giants now seems to be celebrating content over celebrity.
Up next for Pongal, Sivakarthikeyan's Parasakthi and Vijay's Jana Nayagan are set to clash in theatres. With that, Vijay's festive releases would also draw to an end, as he is set to quit cinema for a full-time stint in politics. Ajith, Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan have started picking mid-year release dates, rather than festive ones. In fact, Rajinikanth's next, Jailer 2, is already scheduled for June 12 next year, while Kamal Haasan is working on KH 237 with Anbariv. Ajith's AK64 is yet to go on floors.
Whether this shift marks the beginning of a new era, where fresh faces take over festive screens, or is just a one-time spark in Tamil cinema’s long-standing Deepavali tradition, only time will tell.