South Indian movies are the new craze among Indian citizens, with their amazing screenplay and acting these have won the hearts of many Indian movie lovers. Now, with this the regional cinema is also getting fame, their actors are becoming Pan-India-Stars. Not only these movies are getting their well-deserved fame but also, they are representing India on a global level.
Do you know that south Indian movies are also divided on the basis of languages Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam! But these industries are collectively known as South Indian industries because of their location proximity.
Well, are you a beginner at watching South Indian movies? Want to choose which one to watch first? Not a problem, in this article I have handpicked the top south Indian movies from each of the languages so as to help you out.
1. Baahubali: The Beginning
Director : S.S. Rajmouli
Producer : Shobu Yarlagadda, Prasad Devineni
Storyline: K.V. Vijayendra Prasad
Original language: Telugu, Tamil
Genre: Epic fantasy action
Cast : Prabhas, Rana Daggubaati, Anushka Shetty, Ramya Krishnan, Tamaanah Bhatia, Sathyaraj, Naseer
Plot: Shivudu(Prabhas) is a boy from the tribal community while chasing his love(Tamaanah Bhatia), he gets to know about the kingdom Mahishmati. From there he learns about the conflict-ridden past of his family and his legacy. He must now prepare himself to face his newfound arch-enemy. This movie leaves several questions for the audience which are covered in the second part.
Release date: 10 July 2015
Hit or flop: One of the top south Indian Movies, a masterpiece by S.S. Rajmouli Sir. This movie was made on a budget of ₹180 crores, making it the most expensive Indian film at its time of release. The movie was released worldwide along with the dubbed versions in Hindi and Malayalam, garnering critical acclaim and record-breaking box office success. With a worldwide box office gross of ₹586.45 crores in its initial theatrical run, it became the highest-grossing film in India, the third highest-grossing Indian film worldwide, and the highest-grossing South Indian film.
IMDB rating: 8/10
Where to watch: Hotstar and Netflix
2. Baahubali: The Conclusion
Director : S.S. Rajmouli
Producer : Shobu Yarlagadda, Prasad Devineni
Storyline: K.V. Vijayendra Prasad
Original language: Tamil, Telugu
Genre: Epic fantasy action
Cast : Prabhas, Rana daggubaati, Anushka Shetty, Ramya Krishnan, Tamaanah Bhatia, Sathyaraj, Naseer
Plot: When Bhallaladeva (Rana Daggubaati) conspires against his brother to become the king of Mahishmati, he has him killed by Katappa (Sathyaraj) and imprisons his wife (Anushka Shetty). Years later, his brother's son (Shivudu/Mahendra Baahubali) returns to avenge his father's death (Amarendra Baahubali).
Release date: 28 April 2017
Hit or flop: Generally, the sequel is not liked by the audience as much as the original movie but this sequel broke this prejudice that is why it is on our list of top south Indian Movies. grossing ₹1,796.56 crores worldwide, The Conclusion surpassed PK (2014) to briefly become the highest-grossing Indian film of all time, collecting approximately ₹8 billion worldwide within just six days of its release.
It became the first-ever Indian film to gross over ₹10 billion, doing so in just ten days. Within India, it set many film records, becoming the highest-grossing film in Hindi, as well as in its original Telugu and Tamil languages. It stands as the highest-grossing film in India, the second-highest-grossing Indian film worldwide, and the 39th highest-grossing film of 2017.
The film sold an estimated 100 million tickets (all languages combined) during its box office run, the highest estimated footfall for any film in India since Sholay (1975).
IMDB Rating: 8.2/10
Where to watch: Hotstar and Netflix
3. Magadheera
Director : S.S. Rajmouli
Producer: Allu Aravind, B.S.V.N. Prasad
Storyline: K.V. Vijayendra Prasad
Original language: Telugu
Genre: Fantasy Action
Cast: Ram Charan Teja, Srihari, Kajal Aggarwal, and Dev Gill
Plot: The reincarnation-themed plot revolves around four people: a valiant warrior in charge of the princess' safety (Ram Charan Teja), the princess who is in love with him (Kajal Aggarwal), the commander-in-chief of the army who lusts after the princess (dev gill), and an emperor who wants to conquer their kingdom (Srihari).
They all die before their wishes are fulfilled and the plot jumps forward 400 years, at which point the reincarnation of the warrior and then other three characters too start having flashbacks upon a chance encounter.
Release date: 31 July 2009
Hit or flop: One of the top South Indian Movies in the Telugu language, which catapulted the actors of this movie into stardom. Made on a budget of ₹35 crores Magadheera collected a distributor's share of ₹73 crores.
Its 1000-day theatrical run surpassed Chandramukhi (2005) as the longest-running South Indian film. The film won the National Award for Best Choreography and Best Special Effects at the 57th National Film Awards as well as winning six Filmfare Awards.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
Where to watch: Amazon prime
4. Soorarai Pottru
Director: Sudha kongara
Producer: Suriya, Guneet Monga
Storyline: Sudha Kongara
Original language: Tamil
Genre: It is based on the novel Simply fly by G.R. Gopinath
Cast : Suriya, Paresh Rawal, Aparna Balamurali, Prakash Belawadi.
Plot: Maaran(Suriya), a young man from a remote village has dreams of launching his own airline service so that even poor people can also afford to sit in airplanes. However, he must overcome several obstacles and challenges in order to be successful in his quest. The story is inspired by Simply fly: the Declan odyssey by G.R. Gopinath.
Release: 12 November 2020
Hit or flop: The movie was not released in theatres due to the Covid-19 pandemic but the movie’s reviews are 3.5 to 4 stars so it is considered a hit. The audience, the critics all of them gave rave reviews about the movie.
If it had been released in the movie theatres it would surely have set a record. Everyone’s acting is on point neither less nor more hence it is on our list of top south Indian movies. It is a must-watch since it gives you learning in various ways.
IMDB Rating: 9.1
Where to watch: Amazon prime
5. Vikramakudu
Director : S.S. Rajmouli
Producer: M. L. Kumar Chowdary
Storyline: K. V. Vijayendra Prasad
Original language: Telugu
Genre: Action
Cast: Ravi Teja, Anushka Shetty, Vineet Kumar, Abdul Rehman
Plot: Rathore(Ravi Teja), an honest police officer gets killed by Bavuji a notorious politician. Sathibabu, who resembles Rathore, not only adopts his daughter after his death but even takes his place as a police officer. His mission is to finish the evil Bavuji, who is known for his atrocities.
Release: 23 June 2006
Hit or flop: Ravi Teja has a double role in this movie. From movie to soundtrack everything was praised in this film. This movie was a landmark in the career of Ravi Teja and Anushka Shetty.
Critics praised Ravi Teja for his terrific acting as well as his dialogue delivery. This movie is remade in many languages including Bhojpuri, Hindi, Malayalam. In Bangladesh, it was remade twice. One of the most famous and top South Indian Movies.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
Where to watch: Hotstar and Amazon Prime
6. KGF
Director: Prashant Neel
Producer : Vijay Kirangdur
Storyline: Prashant Neel
Original language: Kannada
Genre: Period action film
Cast: Yash, Srinidhi Shetty, Achyuth Kumar, Ananth Nag
Plot: The film focuses on Rocky(Yash), who lives in poverty, but grows up to be a high-ranking gangster in Mumbai. Later he is appointed by some politicians to work for them, where he poses as a slave-laborer in the Narachi Company (Kolar Gold Fields), aiming to assassinate the cult's future heir, Garuda.
Release: 22 December 2018
Hit or flop: On the first day of its release, KGF: Chapter 1 collected ₹25 crores worldwide which was the highest opening in the Kannada film industry. The film was praised by many celebrities across the South Indian film industry.
Director Pa. Ranjith praised the team after watching the trailer of the film while Puneeth Rajkumar and Shah Rukh Khan also appreciated Yash and the filmmakers. Chapter2 is set to release soon, already the teaser has broken all records which means chapter 2 has the potential to be one of the top south Indian Movies.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
Where to watch: Amazon Prime
7. Vikram Vedha
Director: Pushkar- Gayathri
Producer: S. Sashikanth
Storyline: Pushkar- Gayathri
Original language: Tamil
Genre: Nenoir- action thriller
Cast: R. Madhvan, Vijay Sethupati, Shraddha Srinath, Achyuth Kumar, Vivek Prasanna
Plot: Vikram(R. Madhvan), a sensible policeman, and his partner Simon are on the hunt to capture Vedha(Vijay Sethupati), a high-profile gangster. When Vedha voluntarily surrenders, he offers to tell Vikram a story, throwing Vikram's life into disarray.
Release: 21 July 2017
Hit or flop: The film has received good openings at the box office, the film collected a good number of bucks at the box office on day one. The film grossed Rs. 4 crores on an opening day.
The movie garnered positive reviews from the audience and critics, making it the top south Indian film. The movie is quite an entertainer and leaves a mark on the audience.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
Where to watch: Hotstar
8. Asuran
Director: Vetrimaaran
Producer : Kalaippuli S. Thanu
Storyline: Vetrimaaran, Manimaran
Original language: Tamil
Genre: Period action drama
Cast: Dhanush, Manju Warrier, Ken Karunas, Teejay Arunasalam, Pasupathy, Prakash Raj, Ammu Abirami, Balaji Sakthivel
Plot: A man lives with his wife and children in a remote place with a land of 3 acres where they are growing crops; when a greedy, rich man in the nearby town wants to take their land, he is unsure of the best course to take.
Release: 4 October 2019
Hit or flop: The film was commercially successful at the box office. It was one among the ten Indian films to be screened at the 78th Golden Globe Awards (2021) under the Best Foreign Film Category.
It was also screened at the 51st International Film Festival of India at Goa, being selected as one of the films under the Indian Panorama section for the year 2020 It was remade in Telugu as Narappa (2021). This top South Indian Movie is a treat to watch.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
9. Theeran
Director: H.Vinoth
Producer: S. R. Prakashbabu, S. R. Prabhu
Storyline: H.Vinoth
Original language: Tamil
Genre: Action thriller
Cast : Karthi, Rakulpreet Singh, Abhimanyu Singh, Manobala
Plot: A police officer(Karthi) comes across the file of a notorious gang of thieves who loot the homes near the highway and murder them. When he sees how brutally people are murdered by them then he decides to catch them.
Release: 17 November 2017
Hit or flop: The movie was a box office hit. This movie was highly praised by the critics too for the real locations used in the movie.
Apart from all these the storyline as well as the acting of the characters are really good, which takes you on an emotional ride. Hence, you can include this top south Indian movie in your must-watch list.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
Where to watch: Hotstar
10. Arya
Director: Sukumar
Producer: Dil Raju
Storyline: Sukumar
Original language: Telugu
Genre: Romantic action
Cast : Allu Arjun, Anuradha Mehta, Siva Balaji, Venu madhav, Sudha
Plot: Geethanjali( Anuradha Mehta)is the girlfriend of college rowdy Ajay(Siva), but when Arya(Allu Arjun) sees her he falls in love with her. So, as to get her he tries to create problems in her relationship with Ajay. What follows is a comic roller coaster along with a lot of emotional scenes.
Release: 7 May 2004
Hit or flop: Aarya was a box office hit. It was also highly praised by critics. ‘’You feel like watching a Mani Ratnam movie.” Aarya also showcases Arjun’s fighting as well as his dancing skills.
This top south Indian movie is a perfect blend of emotions, romance, eternal love, passion, craze, tricks, blood. The movie was remade in Malayalam too. The movie also has a sequel which was released on 27 November 2009.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
Where to watch: MX Player
11. Lucifer
Director : Prithviraj Sukumaran
Producer : Antony Perumbavoor
Storyline: Murali Gopy
Original language: Malayalam
Genre: Action
Cast: Mohanlal, Vivek Oberoi, Manju Warrier, Sai Kumar, Tovino Thomas
Plot: A political grandfather dies suddenly and many people want to take his place. So, there is a competition among many people to take over his place.
Release: 28 March 2019
Hit or flop: This movie was the second-biggest opening in the state after Odiyan(2018). This movie is not just about politics but covers other aspects too. The performance of Mohanlal and Vivek Oberoi was also really good.
Apart from this the dialogues, as well as the direction, were also really good. This top south Indian movie is a must-watch for the people who love action and plotting.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
12. Drishyam
Director: Jeethu Joseph
Producer : Antony Perumbavoor
Storyline: Jeethu Joseph
Original language: Malayalam
Genre: Crime drama thriller movie
Cast: Mohanlal, Meena, Asha, Ansiba Hassan, Esther Anil, Neeraj Madhav
Plot: Georgekutty(Mohanlal) has a happy family comprising his wife and two daughters. However, events unfold in such a way that by mistake his family commits a crime and now George has to protect his family.
Release: 19 December 2013
Hit or flop: For all those people who are thinking that this is a Hindi movie, to make it clear that this is the original version and Bollywood has remade this in Hindi. Apart from Hindi, this movie was remade in other languages such as Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada, etc.
This movie also represented India in the 8th Asian Film Festival. The Hindu wrote “It takes craft, intelligence, and the superior acumen of a genuine storyteller to pull off a film in such an engaging manner. The Times Of India wrote, “Drishyam is an elegantly crafted piece of film which Lal and Joseph can proudly hold close to their hearts.”
This top south Indian is a must-watch even if you have watched it in any Hindi. The sequel of this movie has also released on 19 Feb 2021.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
Where to watch: Hotstar
13. Race Gurram
Director : Surender Reddy
Producer: Nallamalupu Srinivas, Venkateswara Rao
Storyline: Vakkantham Vamsi
Original language: Telugu
Genre: Comedy, drama
Cast : Allu Arjun, Shruti Hassan, Shaam, Ravi Kishan, Prakash Raj, Mukesh Rishi
Plot: Two brothers (Allu Arjun and Shaam) who are very different from each other and are not on good terms with each other, are brought together due to a common enemy who happens to be an aspiring politician.
Release: 11 April 2014
Hit or flop: This top south Indian movie is a family entertainer movie. A light-hearted comedy with a pinch of romance and action. This movie was the highest-grossing Telugu movie of 2014.
The Times Of India gave the movie a review stating that “All in all it is the ideal Tollywood masala package loaded with the right amount of entertainment, brotherly love and Brahmanandam. Can you ask for more?” The movie is also loaded with a generous amount of dance moves by Allu Arjun.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
Where to watch: Sony Liv, Amazon Prime Video
14. 1: Nenokkadine
Director: Sukumar
Producer: Ram Achanta, Gopichand Achanta, Anil Sunkara
Storyline : Sukumar, Jakka Hariprasad
Original language: Telugu
Genre: Psychological, action, thriller film
Cast: Mahesh Babu, Kriti Sanon, Anu Hasan, Anand, Nassar, Kelly Dorji
Plot: A rock star(Mahesh Babu) is suffering from schizophrenia, due to his bitter past. He is convinced that his parents were murdered by three men. He is out to find the evil men with the support of a journalist (Kriti Sanon)
Release date: 10 January 2014
Hit or flop: This movie was an above-average hit on the box office. The screenplay by the director is fantastic. This top south Indian movie is really creative and different with the best performance by each actor.
Apart from this, the background score is really good and it also handles the mental disorder really very well. In Hindi, the movie is dubbed and released as ‘Ek Ka Dum’.
IMBD Rating: 8.1
Where to Watch: Sun Nxt VI Movies and TV
15. 96
Director: C. Premkumar
Producer: S.Nanthagopal
Storyline : C.Premkumar
Original Language: Tamil
Genre: Romantic drama
Cast: Vijay Sethupati, Tisha Krishna, Rajkumar, Devadarshini
Plot: K Ramchandran(Vijay Sethupati) is a photographer, while his visit to his school and reunion with friends. While the reunion he meets his childhood sweetheart Janki(Trisha Krishna and gets nostalgic.
Release date: 4 October 2018
Hit or flop: 96 is one of the biggest hits for the lead actors Vijay Sethupati and Trisha Krishnan. It was also declared a hit in the neighboring state of Kerala just after a few days of release.
According to reviews, this top south Indian is a breezy romantic movie. A movie that celebrates pure love. Gives an emotional ride to the viewers. This top south Indian movie is a must-watch for the people who love to watch romantic movies.
IMBD Rating: 8.6
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
16. Jersey
Director: Gowtam Tinnanuri
Producer: Suryadevera Naga Vamsi
Storywriter: Gowtam Tinnanuri
Original language: Telugu
Genre: Sports drama
Cast: Nani, Shraddha Srinath, Sathyaraj, Sanusha, Shishir Sharma
Plot: Arjun, is a talented cricketer but fails to play for the Indian Cricket team. In his late thirties, he decides to play cricket again since his son wants him to and decides to gift him the jersey.
Release: 19 April 2019
Hit or flop: Jersey opened with positive reviews from critics, with praise for Tinnanuri’s screenplay and emotional sequences. This top south Indian movie will make you laugh, cry and cheer out loud for cricketer Arjun.
Film companion wrote about the movie that “There are a few simple-yet-touching moments that safely put Jersey in a league of its own.” Despite the positive reviews from the critics, the movie was average at the box office. The movie is also going to be remade in Hindi Shahid Kapoor and Mrunal Thakur in lead roles.
IMDB Rating: 8.6
Where to watch: Hotstar
17. Vivegam
Director: Siva
Producer : T.G. Thygarajan, Sendhil thygarajan, Arjun thygarajan
Storyline: Siva
Original language: Tamil
Genre: Action thriller
Cast: Ajith Kumar, Akshara Hassan, Kajal Aggarwal, Vivek Oberoi, Sharat Saxena
Plot: A former counter-terrorism agent undertakes a special mission. However, he is betrayed by his friends, and when he tries to return he is accused of heinous acts.
Release: 24 August 2017
Hit or flop: The film was considered a hit on the box office. However, the film received mixed reviews from critics.
The times of India wrote, “Vivegam is an over-the-top but engaging action thriller with a calculated mix of brawn and brain, action and sentiment smartly pandering to fans while giving families something to connect with.” This top south Indian movie is a treat for Vivek Oberoi fans since he is just too good in the negative role.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
Where to watch: Hotstar
18. Singam
Director: Hari
Producer: K.E. Gnanavel Raja
Storyline: Hari
Original language: Tamil
Genre: Action
Cast: Suriya, Anushka Shetty, Prakash Raj, Vijayakumar, Nassar
Plot: An honest police officer(Suriya) is transferred from village to city on the instructions of a political goon. The movie is about his struggle how he manages to get the goon behind the bars.
Release: 28 March 2010
Hit or flop: The movie was a hit at the box office. The movie is remade in many languages Kannada, Bengali, Punjabi, and Hindi as Singham. The movie is the typical masala movie with action and romance.
The special part of this top south Indian movie is the acting and screenplay which is really good. The movie also has two sequels that were a hit at the box office, again that masala action movie.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
Where to watch: Hotstar
I really hope that this list of top south Indian movies helps you to decide the next time you plan to watch a south Indian movie. Well, I have tried my best to cover all the possible genres. From all those genres too, the best movies.
Please leave your comments and tell us which movie you would be watching first. Also, please suggest any other movie that I have missed.
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