Last Updated:December 21, 2025, 12:29 IST

Ajith Kumar’s cult hit Mankatha, directed by Venkat Prabhu, is set for a January 2026 re-release, reigniting nostalgia for Vinayak Mahadevan’s thrilling heist saga.

Mankatha is an action crime thriller starring Ajith Kumar in the lead role.

Back in 2011, when Ajith Kumar lit up screens as the stylish, ruthless Vinayak Mahadevan, fans cheered, whistled and turned theatres into celebration zones. Now, over a decade later, nostalgia is kicking in again, as his cult action thriller Mankatha is poised to return to the big screen.

According to industry tracker Lets Cinema, the re-release is being planned for January 2026. The original film marked Ajith Kumar’s 50th outing as a lead actor and became a major commercial success.

Buzz intensified recently when director Venkat Prabhu dropped a one-word tweet: “Kingmaker.” The iconic reference sparked speculation about the film’s comeback, though the makers are yet to confirm an official date.

Mankatha centres on suspended Mumbai cop Vinayak Mahadevan, who teams up with a gang attempting to steal Rs 500 crore from illegal IPL betting. His hidden motive: betray them all and take the money for himself. What follows is a tense chain of twists, double-crosses and dangerous alliances.

The film features Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Raai Laxmi, Anjali, Andrea Jeremiah, Vaibhav, Ashwin Kakumanu and Premji Amaren in prominent roles. Yuvan Shankar Raja composed the music, with Sakthi Saravanan behind the camera and editing by Praveen K. L.-N. B. Srikanth. Cloud Nine Movies produced the feature and Sun Pictures released it theatrically via Radaan Mediaworks.

Principal photography began in October 2010 and took place across Chennai, the Dharavi area in Mumbai, and Bangkok, wrapping in June 2011. The film opened worldwide on 31 August 2011 to critical praise and delivered one of the strongest openings for a Tamil film at that time.

Meanwhile, Ajith Kumar is preparing to collaborate with director Adhik Ravichandran once racing commitments ease. The untitled project, referred to as AK64, is expected to start production during the racing off-season and is aimed at a wider audience following the fan-driven Good Bad Ugly.