Actor-politician Vijay's 2016 film Theri was supposed to get a re-release in January, but the film's producer Kalaipuli S Thanu pushed it, making way for new releases. The makers of the Atlee directorial have announced that it will release in theatres on February 27.
Theri marked the third collaboration between Vijay and Thanu after Sachein (2005) and Thuppakki (2012). The film was the first of the three films that came out of the Vijay-Atlee duo. Theri was followed up by Mersal (2017) and Bigil (2019).
Theri, the sophomore of filmmaker Atlee, follows a recluse Joseph Kuruvilla (Vijay), who is extra cautious to stay under the radar, runs a bakery in Kerala's Alappuzha, and is a single father of Nivi (Nainika). But as fate has it, he has a not-so-pleasant encounter with a local goon, which brings everything to the surface he kept avoiding: attention, danger, and his past.
Theri also starred filmmaker Mahendran, Radikaa Sarathkumar, Samantha, Amy Jackson and Rajendran. The film's huge success resulted in the Hindi remake, Baby John (2024), directed by Kalees and starring Varun Dhawan, Keerthy Suresh, Jackie Shroff and Wamiqa Gabbi. Actor-politician Pawan Kalyan's Ustaad Bhagat Singh too is said be based on Theri.