Thalaivar Thambi Thalaimaiyil

Thalaivar Thambi Thalaimaiyil, a political satire directed by Nithish Sahadev and co-written with Sanjo Joseph and Anuraj O.B., opened during Pongal on January 15, 2026, grossing 400 million rupees against a budget of 100 million. The director has said the lead was originally intended for a different actor but shifted to Jiiva due to scheduling conflicts, and that the project was initially conceived as a Malayalam film; he compared Jiiva to Malayalam star Nivin Pauly, someone with a large reserve of audience goodwill whose films just needed a proper release. Who it's for: anyone curious about a new Tamil political satire that was originally planned in a different language with a different lead, grossing four times its budget. Who it's not for: viewers wanting a smooth production that went exactly as originally planned.