India's biggest hit during Covid-19 pandemic had two superstars, was released on OTT after 16 days, still earned Rs 220 crore

After the first quarter of 2020 and till the last quarter of 2021, theatres across India mostly remained shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The cinema halls opened for a few days in between under strict regulations, and that's when a film came that was hugely celebrated among the masses and the classes. An action thriller, this movie was released after multiple delays and turned out to be India's biggest hit during the pandemic. It is none other than the 2021 Tamil action thriller Master, directed by Lokesh Kanagraj and featuring two Kollywood superstars - Thalapathy Vijay and Vijay Sethupathi.

JD vs Bhavani in Master

Master had Vijay Sethupathi as an alcoholic professor John 'JD' Durairaj, who is sent to a juvenile school where he clashes against the gangster Bhavani, played by Vijay Sethupathi, who uses children for his criminal activities. Set to release on April 9, 2020, the film was postponed due to the Covid-19 regulations and the makers waited for a theatrical release, despite getting offers worth crores from multiple streaming platforms. The Lokesh Kanagaraj directorial, which also starred Malavika Mohanan, Andrea Jeremiah, Arjun Das, Shanthanu Bhagyaraj and Gouri G. Kishan in supporting roles, was finally released in theatres on January 13, 2021, a day before the Pongal festival.

Master broke box office records

The Thalapathy Vijay and Vijay Sethupathi-starrer was the perfect commercial entertainer that the audiences had been waiting to watch on the big screen after the theatres had shut down due to the pandemic. The film received a thunderous response in the theatres, earning Rs 154 crore net in India and grossing Rs 220 crore worldwide. It became India's biggest hit during the Covid-19 pandemic. Master also became the fastest Indian film to have its OTT debut after the theatrical release as the film started streaming on Amazon Prime Video from January 29. Even after its OTT release, Master ran for over 10 weeks in Tamil Nadu.

Vijay Sethupathi and Thalapathy Vijay in Lokesh Cinematic Universe

After Master, Lokesh Kanagaraj collaborated with Vijay Sethupathi and Thalapathy Vijay again for the the Vikram (2022) and Leo (2023), respectively. Vikram and Leo are the second and the third films in the Lokesh Cinematic Universe, that began with Karthi-starrer Kaithi in 2019. Lokesh's next release is Rajinikanth-starrer Coolie, which hits theatres on August 14 next month. It is yet not known if Coolie will be a part of LCU or not.

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