Sankranthi is certainly the biggest Festival season for the cinema-goers, not just in Telugu states but also in South India which comprises of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala. The festival season, with its long holidays and filled-up theatres, has been the time when a number of big movies would release one after another, as the directors would want to earn from the crowds of the festival and the good reviews.

This year the Sankranthi box office battle has already become crowded. Prabhas, the pan-India star, has started the season with The Raja Saab. The much-awaited multi-starrer, which features Megastar Chiranjeevi and Victory Venkatesh, is going to be released on January 12. The party does not end here as on January 13 Mass Maharaja Ravi Teja’s newest film will be ready for release.

Then, on the main festival day, January 14, the audience were expecting already a double treat with Naveen Polishetty’s Anaganaga Raju and Sharwanand’s Murari announced to be in theatres from 6 PM onwards.

But a fresh twist to the festival-celebration controversy has been added with another star-studded movie coming into the Sankranthi battle. Karthi, the Tamil superstar’s, film Va Vathiyar is officially set to be released on January 14. The film will be simultaneously brought to the Telugu audiences with the title Annagaru Vastaru giving them yet another festive option.

It’s worth noting that the movie was initially intended to be released last month but then it had its share of delays because of some unexpected events. Now that the above-mentioned events are sorted out, the production team has announced Sankranthi as the final release date with January 14 being the official date.

He is most probably on Karthi’s side who does not fan him. Annagaru Vastaru is also in Thrissur and the audience is more than ready for it. Another Torwood’s top actress Krithi Shetty is alongside Karthi and is already bringing the project more towards T-Town.

Nalan Kumaraswamy, the director, has developed a storytelling technique that is very different and consequently he has gained the fame. One significant challenger has emerged to the Sankranthi 2026 box office competition and thus one of the toughest festival seasons of the year has been set.