The streaming wars have arrived and affected the Indian entertainment industry massively and Tamil cinema is no exception. OTT platforms like Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, SonyLIV and many other platforms have increasingly understood the international viability of Kollywood content. The extreme squeeze on the theatre business like PVR and INOX has forced the leading production houses to sell digital rights of new released movies to the top over the top media players. At the same time, there are other websites like tamilyogi that perpetuate piracy of Tamil movies.
Now, let us have a sneak peek into some of the top Tamil OTT releases that are expected to arrive in the coming years, 2023 and 2024.
Maharaja
One of the anticipated Tamil films that directly premiered on OTT in 2023 is the ‘Maharaja’ featuring Sathya Raj along with Maria Ryaboshapka. This multilingual period drama produced by the Lyca Productions which has created good pre-release stir set in Buckingham palace. Though its OTT platform release is still unclear, ‘Maharaja’ is set to offer a Tamil audience a glamorous depiction of London ’43.
Vikram
This is Kamal Haasan’s most recent 2022 blockbuster movie and is also expected to release on the OTT platform soon. This directorial of Lokesh Kanagaraj not only helped to take mass icon Vikram to new heights but also delivered one of the recent biggest commercial successes in Tamil cinema. Disney+ Hotstar has been able to secure the digital rights.
Indian
Another upcoming Kamal Haasan movie undoubtedly directed by Shankar is ‘Indian 2’. As for its stage debut, it remains in the air due to production setbacks, though makers are still in negotiations with Amazon Prime regarding a potentially record-breaking direct-to-OTT release. If that materialises, it will be a huge blow for Kollywood theatres, but will be a veritable bonanza for Prime Video customers.
Kalki
The multi-starrer ‘Vikrant Rona’ of Kiccha Sudeep which is a big film of the actor across the country was released in Tamil as ‘Kalki’ last year. The 3D fantasy action-adventure film is directed under Anup Bhandari and is yet to release the OTT announcement even after its theatrical release.
Suriya 42
Another most anticipated Tamil film of the year 2023 is also a Direct OTT ready-to-explode movie named yet another Suriya movie with the director Siva. They might release the cop drama directly on Amazon Prime if their past associations such as, ‘Singam’ are anything to go by this year.
Navarasa
This is exactly what Mani Ratnam’s Netflix anthology film ‘Navarasa’ was; a gamechanger that established that Kollywood content has a market anywhere in the world. The show’s success is creating room for more Tamil anthologies, such as Victim – Who is Next? on Amazon Prime. Set and shot in the backdrop of Madurai, this hard-hitting movie by Chimbu Deven gets to the heart of such shocking real-life events that occurred in Tamil Nadu.
Dhanush-Mithran
After making his Hollywood debut with ‘The Gray Man’, the Tamil actor has ‘Thiruchitrambalam’ with Mithran Jawahar in the pipeline expected to release in 2023. It has sold its OTT rights to SunNxt with the month of September as the broadcast period. Mithran’s last release was the super hit ‘Sunny’ with Jayasurya and had SunNxt streaming rights.
Jyotika
The talented and stunning Kollywood heroine Jyotika has collaborated once again with the director Rajsekar Pandian for Hates To Love You(2023) for which the shoot was completed recently. This is most likely going to be another OTT release for the younger audience in the series format like their other projects.
Kuruthi
Malayalam actor Prithviraj helped Tamil viewers get acquainted with his production house through ‘Kuruthi’-original released on Prime Video in 2022. He is now financing another Tamil movie titled ‘Tirunelveli’ having Abishek and Priya Bhavanishankar in the lead roles. Learnt from Pradeep Kalipurayath, this small-town family entertainer welcomes 2023 as it premiered on OTT platforms.
Vada Chennai 2
an important landmark of the Tamil movie industry is the gangster film ‘Vada Chennai’ directed by Vetri Maaran starring Dhanush which is to be released in 2023. Since there are always people who would wait to catch rowdy Senthil next scene, the films OTT rights could turn out to be an interesting battle between platforms such as Hotstar, Netflix and others.
Vikram – Aditha Karikalan
Director Gautham Vasudev Menon’s ambitious historical fiction that was announced 10 years back, starring Karthi as the Chola prince, is also expected to release in 2023. Due to frequent production setbacks, it has given rise to speculations that could directly release on an over-the-top platform. If that happens, ‘Vikram – Aditha Karikalan’ will be Disney + Hotstar’s most significant bagged content for the entire year.
Thalapathy 67
If you haven’t heard of any Thalapathy Vijay movie, then it will be a surprise as they have produced some of the Tamil OTT releases to date. The list consists of 67th film of Vijay in direction of Lokesh Kanagaraj of ‘Master’ fame and produced by Xavier Britto. This theatrical business is certain to be a win yet the digital rights could be record breakers with Netflix and Amazon ready to compete.
For Tamil OTT market 2024 will bring even more exciting future as streaming platforms will spend more on the exclusive digital premiere. Some of the films that are already in pipeline for digital deals include Thala Ajith’s AK62 with Vignesh Shivan, Silambarasan TR’s Pathu Thala and Sundar C’s historical fiction Sangamithra are already in talks with digital platforms, setting base for direct OTT releases from 2024 onwards.
The Tamil cinema is increasingly becoming a part of the mainstream digital ecosystem and as it does, the viewers need to prepare for more clutter-challenging theatre-breaker releases but at the same time create new benchmarks for streaming platforms. OTT has given the Kollywood medium beyond linguistics and geographical regions, which has helped to strengthen its potential. Even more original Tamil content with a promise to be released on global platforms will open up mainstream Indian cinema’s new horizons in the coming months and years. So gather your subscriptions and prepare yourself for the world outside!
