From Rajinikanth, Kamal Hassan, and Mammootty to Chiranjeevi and Shiva Rajkumar, a few South Indian heroes are still in their 'prime'.
South Indian star actors in their 'prime'. (Twitter)
A majority of the working class across the globe retire at the age of around 60 years. However, when it comes to acting, the word “retirement” just doesn’t exist.
At the most, it is referred to as “taking a break”. And that’s the beauty of art and artistic-based professional life.
Much like politicians, actors never retire, especially star heroes. They continue to rule the roost in Indian cinema and more so in the South Indian film industry.
And, the best part of it is that no one’s complaining since their die-hard fans can’t have enough of them on the silver screens.
South First lists the star heroes from South India who are in their “prime” despite crossing 60.
Rajinikanth: Rajinikanth, unanimously called “The Superstar”, is one of a kind. The star actor has etched a place for himself that no one has or can even hope to have in the history of Tamil cinema.
Actor Rajinikanth. (Twitter)
In an industry that has seen several heroes come and go, Rajinikanth continues to remain at the top because of the love that the people have for him.
The star hero does not have fans just in Tamil Nadu but all around the globe, including Japan.
The fact that Rajinikanth managed to remain at the top for over four-and-a-half decades makes the accomplishment not just special but also unique.
Despite being 72 years old, the actor is still busy with several films yet to come.
He has director Nelson’s Jailer coming up next. After Jailer, he will begin working on a film with director TJ Gnanavel of Jai Bhim (2021) fame.
This is to be followed by a movie with director Lokesh Kanakaraj. The Superstar will also be seen making a cameo appearance in his daughter Aishwarya Rajinikanth’s Lal Salaam.
Kamal Haasan: Actor Kamal Haasan, who is 68 years old, is considered a legend of not just Tamil cinema but also Indian cinema.
Actor Kamal Haasan. (Supplied)
The veteran Tamil star, who time and again proved that age is just a number, is increasing his workload and shows no signs of slowing down.
Apart from playing an active role in all aspects of filmmaking, the actor also took up the additional challenge of being a politician and running a political party in recent times.
Kamal Haasan, whose last film Vikram (2022) was a humongous blockbuster, will next be seen in ace director Shankar’s Indian 2.
He will also be a part of Kalki 2898 AD, which is to be directed by Telugu director Nag Ashwin. The movie features Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, and Deepika Padukone in lead roles.
Further, the actor is teaming up with directors H Vinoth and Mani Ratnam.
Chiranjeevi: Megastar Chiranjeevi, 67, is as exuberant as he appeared once in his prime.
His last outing, Waltair Veerayya (2023), lured him to do continuous projects back to back. And Bhola Shankar is one of them that materialised immediately after the success of his last film.
Megastar Chiranjeevi. (Twitter)
Of course, the look of the movie seem to be on the lines of any Telugu commercial potboiler. But fans hope that director Meher Ramesh would give it a different spin.
The Megastar will flag off the promotional campaign soon after returning to India. He is currently on a US tour.
After Bhola Shankar, he will be seen in Kalyan Krishna’s movie to be produced by his (Megastar’s) daughter Sushmita.
There is another film likely to materialise with Anil Ravipudi.
After hearing a one-liner from Anil, Chiranjeevi wanted him to come up with a detailed script. The film may go on floors in 2024 if the star hero gives his nod.
Balakrishna: His charismatic on-screen presence hasn’t been dented even at this age. That’s the saleability factor for filmmakers and producers to queue up for Nandamuri Balakrishna’s call sheets.
Actor Nandamuri Balakrishna. (Twitter)
The audience might have felt bored watching his regular run-of-the-mill Rayalaseema faction personality, but Balakrishna, 63, never gets tired.
After Veera Simha Reddy (2023), his upcoming film with Anil Ravipudi titled Bhagavanth Kesari has raised expectations among his cult fans.
Touted to be an action entertainer again, this 108th film of Balakrishna has an unusual tagline — “Don’t Care”.
Featuring Kajal Aggarwal and Sree Leela as the female leads, Bhagawanth Kesari is produced by Sahu Garapati and Harish Peddi.
Balayya would then join hands with director Bobby, who helmed Waltair Veerayya. The story has a political backdrop. Naga Vamsi of Sithara Entertainment is producing it on a grand scale.
Venkatesh Daggubati: Venkatesh aka Venky earned a name among family audiences with slice-of-life family dramas. However, he recently broke the typecast with the Netflix series Rana Naidu (2023).
Actor Venkatesh Daggubati. (Twitter)
He did get trolled on social media for his daring step but all this didn’t bother him.
This 62-year-old “Daggubati” star will play an intense, terminator-like role in the upcoming movie Saindhav.
Directed by Sailesh Kolanu, the film features veteran Hindi actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui — who is making his Telugu debut — alongside Shraddha Srinath and Ruhani Sharma.
Andrea Jeremiah, too, is playing an important role in the film.
Saindha will be released on 22 December this year. It is funded by Venkat Boyanapalli under the banner of Niharika Entertainment.
Mammootty and Mohanlal, popularly known as the two Ms, have been the pillars of the Malayalam industry for more than three decades.
These star heroes are in their 60s and yet are busy doing a handful of films.
Mohanlal: The 63-year-old thespian has been doing films under Aashirvad Cinemas, owned by his close confidante Antony Perumbavoor, for more than 10 years.
Actor Mohanlal. (Twitter)
Aashirvad Cinemas recently announced its 33rd untitled movie to be directed by Drishyam (2013) director Jeethu Joseph.
Meanwhile, they are also thinking of Drishyam 3, Jeethu told South First.
Big-budget movie Ram, again directed by Jeethu Joseph, is in the process of filming.
The Covid-19 lockdowns halted the shooting of Ram, produced by Aashirvad Cinemas. The film is being shot in multiple countries.
Malaikottai Vaaliban, directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery, is a much-anticipated movie of Mohanlal which completed its shooting recently. The post-production will take 4-6 months.
Vrushabaha is another big-budget movie starring Mohanlal. This pan-Indian movie is directed by Kannada director Nanda Kishore.
Prithviraj’s directorial Empuraan, the sequel to the blockbuster film Lucifer (2018), is also a most-anticipated film. The project will go on the floors this year-end.
Barroz, a fantasy movie directed by Mohanlal himself, is another celebrated movie of the star hero.
Meanwhile, the actor will be seen in a cameo role in Rajinikanth’s Jailer which will release in August.
Mammootty: Popularly known as Megastar, Mammootty has impressive projects on his list.
The actor recently started his new production house — Mammootty Kampany.
Actor Mammootty. (Twitter)
The 71-year-old star hero will be next seen in Kathal, produced by his production house. The movie, directed by Jeo Baby, will have Tamil actress Jyothika opposite Mammootty.
Kannur Squad helmed by debutant Roby Varghese Raj is touted to be a realistic police story.
Debutant director Deen Dennis’ Bazooka is another anticipated movie of Mammootty who is known for working with newcomers.
The actor will also work with Bheesma Parvam (2022)-fame Amal Neerad for the sequel of their cult movie Big B (2007). The project is titled Bilal.
Dr Shiva Rajkumar: Fondly referred to as Hatrick Hero, Century Star, and Karunada Chakravarthy by his fans, Dr Shiva Rajkumar recently celebrated his 61st birthday on 12 July.
Actor Shiva Rajkumar. (Twitter)
The same day, no less than half a dozen new projects with him as a leading actor were announced. Overall, Shivanna has “at least” 12 movies in the pipeline.
While he is gearing up for the release of the Kannada film Ghost directed by Srini, the star hero’s next is Bhairathi Ranagal.
Meanwhile, Jailer and Captain Miller in Tamil are inching closer to release.
In Karataka Dhamanaka, he is paired alongside the dancing sensation Prabhudeva. It is directed by Yogaraj Bhat.
Composer Arjun Janya turns director with Shivanna in lead for 45.
The other projects include Inspector Vikram 2, Tagaru 2, and a yet-to-be-titled film directed by Karthik Adwaith.
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