South Indian cinema has planned a number of interesting releases in theaters this week. As the Pongal and Sankranti festivities approach, let’s take a look at some of the top movies worth watching on the big screen.
8 South movies to watch in theaters this week
1. Man Shankara Var Prasad Guru
- Mould: Chiranjeevi, Nayanthara, Catherine Tresa, Zarina Wahab, Harsh Vardhan, Abhinav Gomatam, Sachin Khedekar, Sharat Saxena, Sudev Nair, Venkatesh Daggubati (cameo)
- Director: Anil Ravipudi
- Style: action comedy
- Language: Telugu
- Runtime: 2 hours 36 minutes
- Release date: 12 January 2026
Man Shankar Var Prasad Garu explores the story of Shankar Var Prasad, a national security officer of the NIA. He is married to Shasirekha, a wealthy man’s daughter, who marries Shankar despite the disapproval of her father’s middle-class background.
Due to his disapproval, Shasirekha’s father becomes an obstacle in the couple’s relationship. After a series of misunderstandings, Shankar and Shasirekha part ways, even though they still have feelings for each other.
As Shankar is assigned a new mission, he must also navigate his broken relationship and attempt to repair it, figuring out if he is able to reunite with his wife.
2. Kanimangalam Kovilakam
- Mould: Ajmal Khan AA, Abhi Krish, Mohammed Rafi, Sarath Sabha, Kottayam Ramesh, Sminu Sijo
- Director: Rajesh Mohan
- Style: horror comedy
- Language: Malayalam
- Runtime: tba
- Release date: 16 January 2026
Kanimangalam Kovilakam revolves around some characters who live near a hostel adjacent to a graveyard. Everyone is afraid of the old graveyard between the hostel and the college, even the hostel residents run away from it.
However, their lives are about to change when they realize that it is not the cemetery that is haunted, but the hostel itself. The film explores how this revelation affects the characters and their attempt to survive.
3. Thalaivar Thambi Thalaimayil
- Mould: Jeeva, Prarthana Nathan, Thambi Ramaiah, Anuraj, Ilavarasu, Jenson Dhiwakar, Sarjin Kumar, Jaywant
- Director: Nitish Sahdev
- Style: comedy political drama
- Language: tamil
- Runtime: 2 hours 35 minutes
- Release date: 15 January 2026
Thalaivar Thambi Thalaimayil is an upcoming political comedy drama starring Jeeva and directed by Nitish Sahdev of Phalami fame. The film focuses on deep family tensions during a community festival, which forces the protagonist to deal with feuds and protect his family.
The film explores whether the hero successfully overcomes these challenges.
4. Anaganaga Oka Raju
- Mould: Naveen Polishetty, Meenakshi Chaudhary
- Director: Mari
- Style: romantic comedy
- Language: Telugu
- Runtime: 2 hours 20 minutes
- Release date: 14 January 2026
Anaganaga Oka Raju is an upcoming Telugu-language romantic comedy starring Naveen Polishetty and Meenakshi Choudhary in the lead roles. Directed by Maari, the film features the Chhichhore actor in a quirky and fun avatar.
More details about the film have not been officially announced by the makers yet.
5. Mango Pachcha
- Mould: Sanchit Sanjeev, Kajal Kunder, Mayur Patel, Hamsa Pratap, Jai Gopinath
- Director: Vivek Prakash
- Style: crime action drama
- Language: Kannada
- Runtime: tba
- Release date: 15 January 2026
Mango Pachcha is a crime action drama set in Mysuru in the early 2000s. The film tells the story of a young DVD store owner’s rise in the underworld. The film explores themes of power and ambition as he becomes trapped in a secret empire.
6. Nari Nari Naduma Murari
- Mould: Sharwanand, Sanyukta, Sakshi Vaidya, Shri Vishnu
- Director: Ram Abbaraju
- Style: comedy drama
- Language: Telugu
- Runtime: 2 hours 35 minutes
- Release date: 14 January 2026
Nari Nari Naduma Murari is a comedy drama that narrates the life of a young man planning to marry his love and colleague. However, things change when his ex-girlfriend returns to his life as his boss.
Caught between his former and current lovers, he experiences many moments filled with ridiculous misunderstandings and chaos.
7. Bhartha Mahasayulaku Vignyapati
- Mould: Ravi Teja, Aashika Ranganath, Dimple Hayathi, Sunil, Vennela Kishore, Satya
- Director: Kishore Tirumala
- Style: family romantic comedy
- Language: Telugu
- Runtime: 2 hours 22 minutes
- Release date: 13 January 2026
Bharatha Mahasayulaku Vignyapati is based on the story of Ram Satyanarayan, a husband who struggles with love, marriage and responsibility as he finds himself torn between two women.
As he becomes more involved with the two, Ram faces a number of ridiculous but challenging situations while attempting to balance modern dating advice with societal expectations.
8. Va Vathiyar
- Mould: Karthi, Kriti Shetty, Sathyaraj, Rajkiran, Nizhalgal Ravi, Anandraj, Shilpa Manjunath, Karunakaran
- Director: Nalan Kumarasamy
- Style: action comedy
- Language: tamil
- Runtime: 2 hours 10 minutes
- Release date: 14 January 2026
Va Vaathiyar is the story of DSP Rameswaran, a corrupt police officer, who lives a life contrary to his grandfather’s wishes to adopt the honesty and values of late MGR.
As a horrific crime unfolds around him, Rameswaran’s journey takes an unexpected turn when he adopts an alter ego inspired by MGR to fight corruption and injustice. The film explores what happens when he fights crime using this unconventional identity.
These are some of the films releasing in theaters this week. Meanwhile, films like The Raja Saab, Parasakthi, Pennu Case and many other South Indian films continue to run in theatres.
Also read: Man Shankar Var Prasad Garu Twitter Review: 9 Tweets To Read Before Watching Chiranjeevi’s Film
