(clockwise from top left) Stills from ‘Jana Nayagan’, ‘Parasakthi,’ ‘Bhagavanth Kesari’, and ‘Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu’
All eyes are now on the epic Pongal weekend clash at the box office between ‘Thalapathy’ Vijay’s swansong film Jana Nayagan and ‘Prince’ Sivakarthikeyan’s much-anticipated Parasakthi. From the speeches of the respective stars at the audio launch events of their films to the many controversies surrounding the releases, there’s a lot that’s being spoken about. However, there are also several notable coincidences that many of the releases this Pongal share with each other, making this festive season truly one of a kind. Here are some:
Clash of the Titans
Vijay’s Jana Nayagan is not just locking horns with any film; it is taking on Parasakthi. It is no mere coincidence that Parasakthi, directed by Sudha Kongara, takes its title from the iconic Tamil film written by the late legendary Dravidian stalwart M Karunanidhi. It’s a period drama that champions the Dravidian students’ movement from the 1960s, and as shown in the recently-released trailer, takes a peek into how a group of students fought for the rights of Tamils. What has taken the internet by storm is the fact that this tribute to the Dravidian movement — distributed by Red Giant Movies, a company founded by Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin — is taking on a film that signals the political entry of a superstar who has repeatedly criticised the DMK government, calling them his ‘political enemy.’
Student takes on the master
It is also interesting enough to note that Parasakthi is headlined by a star who is popularly believed to be Vijay’s successor to the throne in Tamil cinema – an idea that was fuelled by Vijay himself, through a symbolic passing-of-the-baton gesture to Sivakarthikeyan in The Greatest of All Time. Given Siva’s skills as a performer, action hero, dancer, and entertainer — and the kind of films he has been doing — it seemed like an obvious choice that he would be the frontrunner to fill Vijay’s shoes. However, a lot of stars had to align for the ‘student’ to take on the ‘master’ he is replacing at the box office. Either way, as Siva said at the audio launch of Parasakthi, this is an ‘Annan-Thambi’ Pongal.
Anil Ravipudi’s Pongal
This is a mind-boggling coincidence. According to many unverified reports, Jana Nayagan is said to be a remake of Telugu superstar Nandamuri Balakrishna’s 2023 action drama Bhagavanth Kesari. Even the online discourse surrounding the trailer of Jana Nayagan adds to speculations, with fans stating how, even if it weren’t a remake, there seem to be one too many similarities between the two films. Now, were you aware that the upcoming Sankranthi release, Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu, starring Chiranjeevi and Venkatesh, is directed by the same man who helmed Bhagavanth Kesari? So, if we are to believe that Jana Nayagan is a remake of the Telugu film, director Anil Ravipudi will face a unique situation this Pongal/Sankranthi: his Telugu film will be clashing with the Telugu dubbed version of a Tamil film that is a remake of his previous Telugu film. Phew!
Now, imagine how actor Sreeleela must be feeling. Her Parasakthi is clashing at the box office with the Tamil remake (reportedly, again) of Bhagavanth Kesari, in which she played the female lead.
The Director’s touch
Jana Nayagan is directed by filmmaker H Vinoth, who is known for helming three films (Nerkonda Paarvai, Valimai and Thunivu) with Vijay’s arch-rival in films, Ajith Kumar. (Interestingly, Vijay’s previous film, The Greatest of All Time, was helmed by Ajith’s Mankatha-director Venkat Prabhu, who, on the other hand, has currently teamed up with Sivakarthikeyan, believed to be Vijay’s successor.)
These crazy coincidences aside, this is for sure — this Pongal/Sankranthi is a feast like no other for fans of cinema. And for a bittersweet farewell for fans of superstar Vijay.
Vijay’s Jana Nayagan also stars Pooja Hegde, Bobby Deol, Prakash Raj, Priyamani, Narain, Gautham Vasudev Menon, and Mamitha Baiju in pivotal roles. It is produced by Venkat K Narayana of KVN Productions, and co-produced by Jagadish Palanisamy and Lohith NK. It is scheduled to be released in theatres on January 9.
Parasakthi, meanwhile, stars Ravi Mohan, Atharvaa Murali and Sreeleela among others. Produced by Aakash Baskaran under the Dawn Pictures banner, the film is set to release in theatres on January 10.
Published – January 07, 2026 10:30 am IST
