Vishwanath & Sons
2026 Indian film
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Vishwanath & Sons is a 2026 Indian romance and family drama film[8] written and directed by Venky Atluri. The film was simultaneously shot in Telugu and Tamil. Produced by Sithara Entertainments and Fortune Four Cinemas, the film stars Suriya, alongside Mamitha Baiju, Radhika Sarathkumar, and Raveena Tandon. In the film, an industrialist reconnects with his child's surrogate mother after his son is diagnosed with a serious health condition.
- Naga Vamsi S
- Sai Soujanya
| Vishwanath & Sons | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Venky Atluri |
| Written by | Venky Atluri |
| Dialogues by | K. N. Vijayakumar |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Nimish Ravi |
| Edited by | Navin Nooli |
| Music by | G. V. Prakash Kumar |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | see below |
Release date |
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Running time | 161 minutes[1] |
| Country | India |
| Languages | Telugu Tamil |
| Budget | est. ₹120 crore[2] |
| Box office | est. ₹200–260 crore[a] |
The film was officially announced in May 2025 under the tentative title Suriya 46, as it is the actor's 46th film in a leading role, and principal photography commenced the same month. The official title was announced in March 2026. Filming took place at several locations, including Ooty and Belarus, before wrapping in June 2026. The film has music composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar, cinematography handled by Nimish Ravi and editing by Navin Nooli.[9]
Vishwanath & Sons was released theatrically on 14 August 2026 and received positive reviews from critics.[10] It emerged as the third highest-grossing Tamil film of 2026 and Telugu Films of 2026
Plot
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Sanjay Vishwanath alias Sanju, a wealthy industrialist contesting as a rifle shooter, faces a challenge where his gun is damaged intentionally by a racist mob, minutes before the finals. While his team is confused and worried about the finals and finding that a new gun would take 2 hours to arrive, Sanjay repairs the gun and gets ready to take part in the finals. His habit of repairing things instead of replacing, a trait he inherited from his father, Vijay, lets him to take part in the finals. He ends up winning the gold medal for India.
Back in India, his mother Nirmala Devi welcomes him with warmth and affection. However, she is worried that Sanjay has been avoiding marriage for so long. Now that he is his early 40s, she fears that the Vishwanath family bloodline may end with Sanjay and that they would have no heirs. Sanjay keeps visiting San Francisco frequently for over a year, and one day, he arrives back to India with a healthy newborn baby. The public is surprised to see industrialist and Olympic Medalist Sanjay with a baby in his hands all of a sudden. When the media inquires about the baby, he reveals that he became a father via surrogacy. Nirmala is disheartened by his decision to have a baby through surrogacy. She expresses her displeasure to Sanjay, stating that she wanted him to get married and have a baby in the traditional way. But Sanjay doesn't believe in marriage and that since his mother is worried about the continuity of their bloodline, he had made this decision to take up surrogacy.
Sanjay names the baby as Abhay and as the days pass by, Nirmala gets affectionate with her grandson and everything gets back to normal. But on a fateful day, Abhay gets bleeding in his nose and is rushed to hospital, where doctors say he has been diagnosed with a life threatening disorder and immediately needs a bone marrow transplant. Doctors advice Sanjay that only Abhay's parents should donate their bone marrow, citing Abhay's age. As Sanjay's bone marrow doesn't match, he is forced to seek the help of Abhay's surrogate mother. Sanjay and his cousin travel back to San Francisco to find Abhay's mother. They expect her to be Irish or Italian, but she happens to be an Indian woman named Madhanakameshwari Jyothilingam alias Maddy J who is a carefree orphan girl and a medical student. Sanjay is shocked to see Maddy, as she is a woman in her early 20's. Sanjay confronts the doctor who had arranged his surrogacy, asking why they would do it with a woman 20 years younger than him. But they say that girls in early 20's can accommodate healthy babies and they are the best choice for surrogacy. Maddy reads Abhay's report and agrees to the transplant for a payment of $75,000 USD and travel expenses. Sanjay pays her the amount and agrees, then brings her to India.
Back in India, Nirmala is shocked to see Maddy being so young, and she dislikes her carefree and open minded attitude. As time passes by, Maddy and Nirmala Devi get to know each other. Maddy reveals that her parents have died in a car crash and she grew up in an orphanage. She studied medicine using a scholarship and during her final year, she got disqualified from the scholarship due to being 1 mark short. In order to pay the $75000 USD University fees, she agreed to surrogacy, which would pay her $50000 USD and the rest she had arranged through loans. She also reveals that she agreed to the transplant by getting paid in order to escape the loan sharks, but that she is genuinely happy to help Abhay by donating her bone marrow. Maddy's mischievous behavior creates a close bond between herself and Nirmala.
One day Sanjay's step mother Anjali Vishwanath visits Nirmala to invite her to her daughter's wedding which is happening in Ooty. Nirmala promises that she will treat this as her own daughter's wedding. Sanjay, unable to face her, gets out of the scene in a hurry. Maddy inquires about this reaction to Nirmala, where she reveals that when Sanjay was 12 years old, his father had an affair with then famous actress Anjali who was a brand ambassador of his company. He then married her without his mother's knowledge, which deeply impacted and traumatized Sanjay. As days passed, Nirmala reconciled with Anjali and accepted her as her relative, but Sanjay doesn't. It is because of his father's act that he lost trust in marriage and has been avoiding it. When Maddy asks whether Sanjay is a virgin, Nirmala hesitantly reveals that without Nirmala's knowledge he visits foreign countries on every month end and dates a woman there and has his way with her. Nirmala found this out by inquiring Sanjay's cousin, who accompanies Sanjay to those date visits, after she finds condoms in his bag. But Nirmala acts as if she doesn't know anything. Maddy reveals to Sanjay that his mother knows about his month end dating habits. Sanjay is embarrassed, and this creates a comical cat and mouse chase between Sanjay and Maddy.
The bone marrow transplant surgery is completed successfully, and during a heartfelt conversation, Sanjay assures that Maddy is his responsibility and will take care of her. Maddy, who hasn't been anyone's responsibility, feels happy and satisfied from the affection and care Nirmala and Sanjay shower on her. After post surgery recovery, Sanjay takes Maddy to a restaurant, where she gets physically assaulted by the owner of the restaurant. Sanjay stands up for her and confronts the assaulters. Maddy feels emotional over Sanjay's care and him standing up for her, and she falls for him. Now that Maddy is completely recovered, Sanjay arranges for her travel back to her hometown. Disheartened, Maddy confesses her love to Nirmala. Nirmala is overjoyed upon hearing this and requests Sanjay to marry her. Sanjay rejects Maddy citing the age gap, and he forcefully drops her at airport, paying her the last pending payment.
A day later, Maddy starts a protest outside Sanjay's residence, demanding that Abhay is her son and she wants him back. She is surrounded by the media. Sanjay is shown confused and clueless on what to do next. Maddy approaches the court to demand custody of Abhay, but Sanjay defends himself using his lawyer cousin. The judge calls for a outside the court settlement, but Maddy disagrees. Therefore, the judge gave 6 months time for Sanjay to prove his efficiency as a single parent, and sets up a three member committee, who surprisingly visit Sanjay's house and check on him. In this time, Maddy will be staying with him in his home. Nirmala is happy on the return of Maddy. As days pass by, Sanjay and Maddy become good co-parents together in raising the child, but Sanjay still keeps his distance from her. Maddy discontinues her medical degree to stay with Sanjay and Abhay. Nirmala is happy and satisfied upon seeing Sanjay and Maddy together. That same night, Nirmala passes away in her sleep peacefully. Sanjay is deeply disheartened upon his mother's death. After some time has passed, Anjali visits Sanjay to say that she has decided to call off the wedding because of Nirmala's demise, but Sanjay stops her decision and assures her that he will be present as her son and will lead the marriage ceremony.
The story shifts to Ooty, where Sanjay's second family resides. There, he learns that they are constantly taunted by the town people for being the second wife of Vijay Vishwanath. Anjali's daughter, Meghana, is deeply impacted by this since her childhood. Now, Sanjay is challenged to restore the family's respect, successfully organize the marriage, and win Meghana's approval as a brother. Sanjay succeeds in his challenge, and he grows closer to his second family. His anger and trauma have gone completely and he becomes a changed man. After the wedding finishes, he thanks Maddy for being emotionally supportive for him and Abhay. When Maddy asks whether he would accept her if there was no age gap between them, Sanjay says silent. Maddy thanks him, saying that she is hopeful that Sanjay hasn't said no. When Anjali asks whether he is ready to accept Maddy, he says he would have definitely accepted her if she was his age. He also says that she has left her passion to be with him. Sanjay says he is like a holiday for Maddy and after some years pass, she will regret her decision.
The six months time has ended, and Sanjay conveys his displeasure in marrying her at such an young age. He sends her home and advises her to finish her medical degree. Maddy deletes Sanjay's contact, but Sanjay sent her a written card for conveying his regards and written his number on it saying once your anger cools down, call me. Six years later, Maddy had completed her MD in Medicine. In these years, she was in constant touch with Abhay as a mother, and Sanjay's cousin brings Abhay to the US to meet Maddy on his birthdays and other occasions. Through these visits, they developed a deep mother-son bond.
Now that she had finished her degree, Maddy calls Sanjay after 6 years. Sanjay answers her call with warmth and comfort. Sanjay and Abhay visit Maddy in San Francisco. Sanjay offers Maddy a job offer at a hospital that he will open in his mother's name. The three of them exchange happy moments there. When Maddy again asks the question of whether he would have accepted her if not for the age gap, Sanjay smiles without answering. The movie ends with Sanjay, Maddy and Abhay together as a family, watching the sunset over a lake.
Cast
- Suriya as Sanjay "Sanju" Vishwanath, Abhay's father[11]
- Akhilan SJ as Young Sanjay
- Master Dhillshan as Teen Sanjay
- Akhilan SJ as Young Sanjay
- Mamitha Baiju as Madanakameshwari "Maddy Jay" Jothilingam, Abhay's mother[12]
- Radikaa Sarathkumar as Nirmala Devi, Sanjay's mother
- Raveena Tandon as Anjali Vishwanath, Vijay's second wife and Sanjay's stepmother (Voice-over by Deepa Venkat)
- Baby Charvik Reddy as Abhay Vishwanath, Sanjay's and Maddy’s son
- Umarr Navid Nirban as a 7 year-old Abhay
- Sunil Reddy as Advocate Ramalingam "Ramu", Sanjay's cousin and Sireesha's husband
- Harika as Sireesha Ramalingam, Ramalingam's wife
- Nassar as Ramanathan, Prakash’s uncle
- Rajiv Menon as Vijay Vishwanath, Sanjay & Meghana's father (Voice dubbed by Subbu Panchu)
- Harsha Chemudu as Kishore, Sanjay's assistant
- Hensha Deeban as Sarika, Sanjay Vishwanath's worker
- Bhavani Sre as Meghana, Sanjay's younger half-sister; Anjali's daughter and Prakash's wife
- VJ Pappu as Prakash, Meghana's husband
- Mime Gopi as Thangavel
- Bjorn Surrao as Thangavel's henchman
- Kaali Venkat as Shiva
- "Nakkalites" Dhanam as Rukmani Akka, Shiva's mother
- Jaiseelan Sivaram as Ashok
- George Maryan as Muthusamy, Ashok's father
- Sudha as Ramanathan's wife and Prakash’s aunt
- Deepa Shankar as Child Welfare Committee Member
- Java Sundaresan as Child Welfare Committee Member
- Kalyani Natarajan as Prakash's mother
- Mathew Varghese as Prakash's father
- Harsha Harish as Ramanathan's daughter
- Raghu Babu as R. Shanmugam, judge
- Hyper Aadi as a lawyer
- Sarvadaman Banerjee as V. Chandrasekar, Anjali's father
- Sreeja Ravi as Anjali’s mother
- Karate Karthi as Durai, Sanjay's bodyguard
- Mukthar Khan as Sanjay's Shooting coach
- Dheera Pisati as Meghana’s friend
- Aishwarya Dutta as Maddy's friend
- Cell Murugan as Murugan, an tea vendor
- Anarkali Marikar as Dr Meena, Surrogacy Doctor (Cameo appearance)
Production
Development
The screenplay was written by Venky Atluri. He conceived of an "older man falling in love with a younger woman" story, but the subject matter was quite tricky, and he worried that no star would agree to star in it. Atluri told the story to 2D Entertainment head Rajsekar Pandian, who liked it.[13] A few days later, Atluri was able to tell the story to Suriya. By then, the story was developed into a complete script. Suriya immediately loved the idea and agreed to develop it into a film.[13] Atluri said that he wrote countless drafts for some scenes (some scenes even more than ten drafts) before the script was finalised.[13]
The project, tentatively titled Suriya 46 and also referred to as Sithara Entertainments' Production No. 33, was officially launched with a traditional pooja ceremony at Ramanaidu Studios in Hyderabad on 19 May 2025, with director Trivikram Srinivas delivering the first clap.[14][15][16] It was conceived as Suriya's first collaboration with Atluri, who was coming off back-to-back successes with Vaathi (2023) and Lucky Baskhar (2024).[17]
Casting
Mamitha Baiju plays the female lead. Raveena Tandon and Radhika Sarathkumar also starred in the film.[17] Mamitha claimed that she had admired Suriya ever since she saw Ghajini (2005), and revealed that she had previously missed the opportunity to work with him.[18] It marks Tandon's return to Tamil cinema after 25 years, following her appearance in the 2001 film Aalavandhan, and her third Tamil film overall.[11]
Filming
Following the launch ceremony, principal photography commenced on 9 June 2025, around which time the makers released the film's official first-look poster.[19] In India, filming took place at locations such as Ooty[20] and Hyderabad.[21][22] The film was also shot extensively in Europe, with filming happening in Paris,[23] and a major schedule taking place in Belarus.[24] Several of Atluri's regular technical collaborators from Lucky Baskhar joined the project, including cinematographer Nimish Ravi and production designer Banglan, alongside editor Navin Nooli.[9][15] Filming wrapped in June 2026.[25]
Music
The soundtrack and background score are composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar, reuniting with Atluri after Vaathi/Sir and Lucky Baskhar, and continuing the composer's association with Suriya that began with Soorarai Pottru (2020).[9] The first single—titled "Pattampoochi" in Tamil and "Neno Butterfly" in Telugu—was released as part of the film's musical promotions. Both versions features vocals by Sublahshini with lyrics by Arunraja Kamaraj in Tamil.[26]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Pattampoochi" | Arunraja Kamaraj | Sublahshini | 3:29 |
| 2. | "The Wedding Song" | Ken Karunas | Suriya | 3:16 |
| 3. | "The One Rule" | Gana Kadhar | Gana Kadhar | 2:49 |
| 4. | "Paalmazhai" | Balaji Venugopal | Vidya Kalyanraman | 3:44 |
| 5. | "Uyire Uyire" | Balaji Venugopal | Aditi Bhavaraju | 3:26 |
| 6. | "Aariraro Aariro" | Balaji Venugopal | Mithran R.P. Krishaang | 4:26 |
| Total length: | 21:10 | |||
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Neno Butterfly" | Ramajogayya Sastry | Sublahshini | 3:29 |
| 2. | "The Wedding Song" | Ramajogayya Sastry | Suriya | 3:16 |
| 3. | "The One Rule" | Sri Mani | Rowdraa | 2:48 |
| 4. | "Devaki Nandana" | Ramajogayya Sastry | Vidya Kalyanraman | 3:44 |
| 5. | "Kalale Kalale" | Sri Mani | Amala Chebolu | 3:27 |
| 6. | "Laali Jo" | Sri Mani | Ananth Siddharth | 4:26 |
| Total length: | 21:10 | |||
Marketing
The film's title was revealed in March 2026, with the makers announcing that the teaser would arrive on 16 March 2026.[11] Released on that date, the teaser introduced Suriya as Sanjay Vishwanath and trended online, with viewers praising the actor's look and the film's tone.[27] The audio launch for this film was held on 2 August 2026, at Hindusthan College of Arts & Science, Coimbatore.[28]
Release
Theatrical
Vishwanath & Sons was released theatrically on 14 August 2026, timed for the Independence Day weekend. Producer Naga Vamsi confirmed the date on 28 May 2026, a shift from the originally announced July 2026 window.[9] It Released in Telugu and Tamil Languages .[29] Prior to release, it was reported that the film's pre-release business had exceeded ₹300 crore (US$31 million).[30] The film was premiered in the United States on 13 August 2026.[31]
Distribution
Primark Productions is responsible for the film's distribution in Tamil Nadu.[32] Other distributors for this film in India include New Surya Films (Kerala)[33], Rajukunta Film Distributors LLP (Nizam region)[34], and VK Films (Karnataka).[35] Overseas publishers include Shloka Entertainments (USA)[31], York Cinemas (Canada)[36], Linus Media (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg)[37], Zineflix (Germany),[38], SAS Plaza (Srilanka)[39] Boleyn Cinema (UK and Europe)[40], Home Screen Entertainment (Singapore)[41], and Malik Streams Corporation (Malaysia).[42]
Home media
Netflix acquired the post-theatrical digital streaming rights, with the film reportedly set to stream in Telugu,Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi languages after its theatrical run.[43]
Reception
Box office
As of 16 August 2026, Vishwanath & Sons has grossed ₹43.47 crore (US$4.5 million) in India and ₹56.53 crore (US$5.9 million) in other territories for a total of ₹100 crore (US$10 million).[44]
In India, Vishwanath & Sons opened to around ₹20 crore (US$2.1 million) and grossed approximately ₹10 crore (US$1.0 million) overseas for a total opening-day collection of close to ₹30 crore (US$3.1 million).[45] On its second day, the film earned ₹22.25 crore (US$2.3 million) domestically. Its total domestic gross collection stood at ₹43.47 crore (US$4.5 million), while it grossed around ₹56.53 crore (US$5.9 million) overseas, taking its worldwide collection to ₹100 crore (US$10 million). It emerged as one of the highest-grossing Tamil films of 2026 and Telugu Films of 2026.[44] Vishwanath & Sons became Suriya's fastest film to cross the ₹100 crore mark and his second film to achieve the milestone in the same year, after Karuppu.[46] It was also the fastest to reach US$1,000,000 gross in North America among Suriya's films.[47] The film grossed ₹200 crore (US$21 million) worldwide in its opening week.[48] The film performed better at the box office in the Telugu region than in other regions.[49]
Critical response
Vishwanath & Sons received positive reviews from critics, who praised its storyline, screenplay, cast performances and mature handling of taboo topics, while the film's predictability received criticism.[50][10][51]
Janani K of India Today gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote "Vishwanath and Sons is a wholesome film whose shortcomings don't get in the way too much. And as promised, Venky Atluri does make you grab your tissues – even if you're not bawling your eyes out, there are emotional moments that will make you tear up."[52] Latha Srinivasan of NDTV gave 3/5 stars and wrote "Vishwanath and Sons is a sincere attempt at celebrating human relationships and the family. The Suriya-Mamitha Baiju starrer isn't perfect but it definitely has its heart in the right place."[53] Yashaswini Sri of The Indian Express gave 3/5 stars and wrote "Vishwanath and Sons is not a perfect film. But it is also honest, well-performed, funny and emotionally rooted in a way that most mainstream family dramas simply are not in today's age."[54] Sunny Singh of NewsX rated the film 3 out of 5 and appreciated Suriya's performance while criticizing Venky Atluri's writing in the second half of the film, especially climax portions.[55] BVS Prakash of Deccan Chronicle gave 1.5/5 stars and write "the film’s ambitious attempt to blend family drama, romance and social themes results in a contrived and largely disappointing outing."[56]
Notes
- Vishwanath & Sons's reported worldwide grosses vary between ₹200 crore (Hindustan Times[3], The Week[4]) – ₹205.50 crore (DNA India[5]) – ₹260 crore (Outlook India[6], Cinema Express[7])