Billa II

Director: Chakri Toleti

Starring: Ajith Kumar, Prabhu, Rahman, Parvathy Omanakuttan, Bruna Abdullah, Vidyut Jamwal

Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja

Why it’s worth watching: As a prequel to “Billa”, this film tells the story of how a regular man like David, became the underworld don, Billa. “Billa” was a gripping, highly entertaining film, directed by Vishnuvardhan. Will be interesting to see if Chakri Toleti and “Billa II” will be able to create as much magic.

Dhoni

Director: Prakash Raj

Starring: Prakash Raj, Akash Puri

Music: Ilaiyaraja

Why it’s worth watching: The name Prakash Raj makes me think of realistic, unique and sentimental films that detail familial relationships and relevant social issues. Expect nothing less from his Tamil directorial debut “Dhoni”. In the film, Prakash Raj plays a father who wants his son to pursue an MBA, however his son dreams of becoming a renowned cricketer like Dhoni. The film discusses the relationship between a father and son who have conflicting interests.

Kochadaiyaan

Director: Soundaraya Rajinikanth Ashwin

Starring: Rajinikanth, Prithivraj, Sneha, Aadhi, Shobana

Music: A.R. Rahman

Why it’s worth watching: Superstar Rajinikanth returns to the big screen, after taking a break following Endhiran, in this 3D film directed by his daughter, Soundarya. Having only worked as a graphic designer in Kollywood, Soundarya makes her directorial debut. “Kochadaiyaan” is being written by director K.S. Ravikumar, whose previous collaborations with the Superstar have resulted in super hit films like “Padayappa” and “Muthu”.

Maatran

Director: K.V. Anand

Starring: Suriya, Kajal Aggarwal

Music: Harris Jayaraj

Why it’s worth watching: After giving us blockbusters like “Ko” and “Ayan”, K.V. Anand teams up with Suriya again for this film. K.V. Anand usually gives us thrilling, entertaining films, so it’s safe to have high expectations for this one!

Thuppakki

Director: A.R. Murugadoss

Starring: Vijay, Kajal Aggarwal

Music: Harris Jayaraj

Why it’s worth watching: With films like “Ghajini” and “7aam Arivu” under his belt–both extremely different and engaging–we can expect A.R. Murugadoss’s unique touch in this film. This is Vijay’s first film with A.R. Murugadoss. It is also his first film after tasting the success of Shankar’s “Nanban”. Let’s hope that this is the start of streak of better films for Vijay!

3

Director: Aishwarya Rajinikanth Dhanush

Starring: Dhanush, Shruti Haasan, Sunder Ramu

Music: Anirudh Ravichander

Why it’s worth watching: Kolaveri’s explosion onto the world stage has created some major hype around this film. In her directorial debut, Aishwarya Dhanush brings us a film which, she says, was specifically written with Dhanush and Shruti Haasan in mind. Aside from Kolaveri, the rest of the soundtrack has been doing well too. Can’t wait to see what this one’s about!

Neethaane En Ponvasantham

Director: Gautham Menon

Starring: Jiiva, Samantha, Santhanam

Music: TBA

Why it’s worth watching: When has a Gautham Menon film ever disappointed? Expect the same classy, romantic, and thrilling style that is his trademark in “Neethaane En Ponvasantham”. Although this is Jiiva’s first time working with Gautham Menon, Samantha has worked with him before in “Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya” and “Ye Maaya Chesave”, the Telugu version of “Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya” in which she played Jessie. This film is simultaneously being made in Telugu as “Nithya”, with Samantha, again, playing the lead role.

Kadhalil Sodhapuvadhu Yeppadi

Director: Balaji Mohan

Starring: Siddharth, Amala Paul

Music: Thaman

Why it’s worth watching: This film is based upon an entertaining and very funny short film of the same name. Director Balaji Mohan, who directed the original short film, is making his big-screen-debut with this film. The film is simultaneously being made in Telugu as “Love Failure”. A couple months ago, Siddharth started his own production house, Etaki Entertainment. “KSY” and “Love Failure” will be the first films produced by Etaki Entertainment, in association with Y Not Studios.

Samaran

Director: Thiru

Starring: Vishal, Trisha, Sunaina, Prakash Raj

Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja

Why it’s worth watching: For a while now, Vishal and Trisha have wanted to work together, but Trisha has declined four of Vishal’s previous films for undisclosed reasons. She has maintained that she’ll only do films if she is interested in the role she receives so one would assume, since she has finally accepted, that this is quite a promising character and storyline.

Which films are you looking forward to this year? Tweet me @itsmeshiromi!

—Shiromi Raveend