Vijay, Ajith Kumar, Chiranjeevi to compete in crowded festive season - Mumbai News

This upcoming week is celebrated as the Pongal, Sankranti and other harvest festivals in many parts of India, reports Variety.

Vijay stars in Vamshi Paidipally's Tamil-language action family drama 'Varisu', due a January 11 release.

Its Telugu-language dubbed version 'Varasudu' will release January 14 in India.

The heavyweight cast also includes Rashmika Mandanna, R. Sarathkumar, Prabhu and Prakash Raj.

Also due a January 11 release is H. Vinoth's Tamil-language action heist film 'Thunivu', starring Ajith Kumar, which will also release in its Telugu-dubbed version 'Thegimpu' on the same day. Manju Warrier and Samuthirakani are also in the cast.

Megastar Chiranjeevi headlines K.S. Ravindra's Telugu-language action comedy 'Waltair Veerayya' that also boasts a heavyweight cast including Ravi Teja, Shruti Haasan, Rajendra Prasad and Catherine Tresa. The film and its Hindi-language dub is due for a January 13 release with previews on January 12.

Cult star Nandamuri Balakrishna leads Gopichand Malineni's Telugu-language action drama 'Veera Simha Reddy', alongside Shruti Haasan and Duniya Vijay, which is due a January 12 release.

All the films are produced by seasoned industry players. 'Varisu' is from Dil Raju's Sri Venkateswara Creations ('Sarileru Neekevvaru') and Prasad V. Potluri's PVP Cinema ('Evaru'); 'Thunivu' is from Zee Studios and Boney Kapoor's Bayview Projects ('Valimai'); and both the Telugu titles are from Naveen Yerneni, Y. Ravi Shankar and Mohan Cherukuri's hit machine Mythri Movie Makers ('Pushpa: The Rise').

So many big-ticket titles releasing in the same time frame has led to distributors adopting different promotional strategies. In the U.K. for example, 'Varisu' distributor Ahimsa Entertainment is running a digital advertising campaign at 75 locations across London. Lyca Productions, which is distributing 'Thunivu' in the U.K. and Europe via Boleyn Cinemas, has a promotional van for the film doing the rounds of London landmarks including Big Ben and Tower Bridge.

Meanwhile, amidst all the southern Indian star power, there is a lone Bollywood release during the festival frame - Aasmaan Bhardwaj's comedy crime drama 'Kuttey', starring Naseeruddin Shah, Arjun Kapoor, Tabu, Konkona Sen Sharma and Radhika Madan, due for January 13.