Vishwanath and Sons gave Suriya his second big hit of 2026, a playful age-gap romance wrapped in a family drama from Lucky Baskhar director Venky Atluri. Here are six things to know about the story, the cast, the numbers and where to stream it.
Vishwanath and Sons opened worldwide on 14 August 2026, the Independence Day weekend, with Suriya as a 40-year-old shooting champion and Mamitha Baiju as the much younger woman who falls for him. It became the third-highest-grossing Tamil film of the year.
It has been streaming on Netflix since 11 September 2026 in five languages. Viewers in the UAE, where the film played in cinemas from opening day, should check the Netflix app for availability in their region.
Vishwanath and Sons at a glance
- Release date: 14 August 2026, worldwide
- Writer and director: Venky Atluri
- Producers: Naga Vamsi and Sai Soujanya for Sithara Entertainments and Fortune Four Cinemas
- Cast: Suriya, Mamitha Baiju, Radhikaa Sarathkumar, Raveena Tandon and Nassar
- Music: G V Prakash Kumar
- Cinematography: Nimish Ravi
- Runtime: 2 hours 41 minutes
- Language: Tamil
- August box office in India: ₹116.75 crore
- Streaming: Netflix, from 11 September 2026
1. Vishwanath and Sons is about a champion past his prime
Suriya plays Sanjay Vishwanath, a former international shooting champion who, at 40, is attempting a comeback despite failing eyesight. Family duties press in on him, and then Maddy, a woman 20 years his junior played by Mamitha Baiju, falls in love with him.
Venky Atluri took what he called “light inspiration” from Yash Chopra’s 1991 romance Lamhe. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter India, he described the challenge as “trying to establish a taboo, but ending it right”, adding: “As long as you keep it playful, you can’t go wrong.”
Much of the humour comes from the age gap and Maddy’s devotion to Sanjay, which the teaser in March sold as a story of “dreams, emotions and unexpected love”.
2. Venky Atluri made his first Tamil-only film
Atluri built his name in Telugu cinema with Tholi Prema (2018), Mr. Majnu and Rang De. Vaathi (2023) was shot in Tamil and Telugu at the same time, and Lucky Baskhar (2024) earned him a National Film Award for Best Screenplay (Dialogue).
This time he chose one language. “So we made Vishwanath And Sons only in Tamil,” he told Galatta Plus, explaining that shooting in two languages adds days to the schedule.
It is also his first collaboration with Suriya, who, Atluri says, was his first casting decision. The star read nearly every draft before the script was locked, and Atluri praised his willingness to play his age on screen.
3. Vishwanath and Sons cast: who plays whom
- Suriya as Sanjay Vishwanath
- Mamitha Baiju as Maddy
- Radhikaa Sarathkumar as Sanjay’s mother
- Raveena Tandon, in her first Tamil film since Aalavandhan (2001)
- Nassar
Atluri called Mamitha Baiju a “no-brainer” after her work in Premalu. “A girl loving a man versus a girl admiring a man is the whole difference between icky and poetic cute,” he said of how they shaped her role.
Suriya also sings in the film. He first said no, agreed to try the Tamil version, and was then persuaded to record a Telugu one as well.
On release day he told Khaleej Times that one scene came from his own life. When his daughter Diya was born in 2007, around the time he bought his first home, her foot was placed inside before anyone else entered. “In Vishwanath and Sons, when baby Charvik steps into his home, I thought, why don’t we do the same thing in the film?” he said.
4. Vishwanath and Sons box office: a clear winner
The Independence Day weekend was crowded. Nayanthara and Kavin’s romance Hi opened the same day in Tamil, while Awarapan 2 and Batwara 1947 fought it out in Hindi.
Suriya’s film came out on top in its language. Variety India’s August round-up put its India business for the month at ₹116.75 crore, calling it the biggest highlight of Tamil cinema that month. Lokesh Kanagaraj’s acting debut DC made ₹79 crore, and Hi managed ₹8 crore in four days.
By its fourth week the film had crossed ₹200 crore worldwide, according to The Week, with more than ₹120 crore net in India and over ₹64.75 crore from overseas. Outlook India reported more than ₹260 crore worldwide after 25 days.
5. Critics warmed to it
Reviews were largely positive, with 90% of the ten counted critics on Rotten Tomatoes rating it favourably. The Week’s Sajin Shrijith gave it 3.5 out of 5, writing that “Suriya sinks into this character in a way that’s not a repeat of his past stylish roles.”
His main complaint was a long subplot about another family, which he felt played like a separate film. He found Mamitha’s character irksome at first but said viewers slowly warm to her, and praised the old-fashioned 1990s charm of the central relationships.
6. It completes a strong comeback for Suriya
The run began with a setback. Kanguva (2024), in which Suriya played a bounty hunter and a tribal chieftain, drew negative reviews and failed at the box office, despite the buzz captured in our story on R Madhavan’s praise for Kanguva. Karthik Subbaraj’s Retro (2025) then gave him the best opening of his career, with Pooja Hegde in Suriya’s Retro as his co-star.
RJ Balaji’s Karuppu followed on 14 May 2026 and became his highest-grossing film. Vishwanath and Sons arrived three months later, and Outlook India counts it as his second ₹250 crore worldwide grosser of the year. His next project is with director Jithu Madhavan.
Where to watch Vishwanath and Sons
Netflix confirmed 11 September 2026 as the streaming premiere, with the film available in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada, as The Week reported. The reports did not say which countries are covered, so UAE viewers should search for it in the Netflix app.
The choice of dubbed languages matters in the Gulf, where many South Indian families prefer to watch in their own language. Anyone who missed it in UAE cinemas can now catch it at home.
Vishwanath and Sons FAQs
When did Vishwanath and Sons release?
It opened in cinemas worldwide, including the UAE, on 14 August 2026.
Who directed Vishwanath and Sons?
Venky Atluri wrote and directed it. It is his first film with Suriya and his first made only in Tamil.
Is Vishwanath and Sons on Netflix?
Yes. Netflix set 11 September 2026 as its streaming date, in five languages. Check the app for availability in the UAE.
For more Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada film news, visit our South Cinema section.