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Pink Villa
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Pink Villa
9 best South films of 2025 first-half: Tourist Family, Nani's HIT 3 to Thudarum
The first half of 2025 saw some massive releases from South Indian cinema, including Ram Charan starrer Game Changer, Kamal Haasan's Thug Life, Mohanlal's L2: Empuraan, and more. While some satisfied the audiences, others fell short. As we step towards the latter half of 2025, let's take a look back and explore some of the top-rated releases from 2025's first half. Where to watch top 9 South films of 2025 on OTT 1. Rekhachithram (Malayalam) Cast: Asif Ali, Anaswara Rajan, Manoj K Jayan, Siddique, Jagadish, Saikumar, Harisree Ashokan, Mammootty (AI-cameo) Director: Jofin T Chacko Genre: Crime Drama Runtime: 2 hours and 20 minutes Where to watch: SonyLIV Rekhachitham, starring Asif Ali and Anaswara Rajan in the lead, is considered one of the first hits from Malayalam cinema this year. The mystery crime drama is an alternative historical film, which takes place at the shooting location of Mammootty starrer Kathodu Kathoram (1985). The film focuses on the story of a newly reinstated CI Vivek Gopinath, who comes across an old case of a young girl gone missing, shrouded in mystery. 2. Kudumbasthan (Tamil) Cast: Manikandan, Saanve Meghana, R Sundarrajan, Guru Somasundaram, Kudassanad Kanakam Director: Rajeshwar Kalisamy Genre: Comedy Drama Runtime: 2 hours and 35 minutes Where to watch: ZEE5 Kudumbasthan is a Tamil-language comedy drama featuring Manikandan in the lead role. The top-rated movie features the story of Naveen, a man from a lower-middle-class family who marries his girlfriend despite hailing from different caste backgrounds. As he becomes the sole earner of the family, the film features the financial turmoil he faces, balancing mounting debts and family tensions after losing his job. Whether he succeeds in his journey or fails forms the entire story. 3. Choo Mantar (Kannada) Choo Mantar is a Kannada-language film featuring the tale of 4 friends who decide to enter the Morgan house. In hopes of finding a secret treasure, they accidentally find something much more sinister. 4. Court: State vs A Nobody (Telugu) Court: State vs A Nobody is a legal drama that features the tale of a teenager who is presumed to be guilty of a heinous crime. How a passionate defense attorney fights for him against the system of prejudice and corruption becomes the central focus of the film. 5. Veera Dheera Sooran: Part – 2 (Tamil) Cast: Chiyaan Vikram, SJ Suryah, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Dushara Vijayan, Prudhvi Raj, Baalaji SU, Ramesh Indira, Maala Parvathi Director: SU Arun Kumar Genre: Neo-noir Action Thriller Runtime: 2 hours and 30 minutes Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video Veera Dheera Sooran: Part - 2 is a neo-noir action thriller written and directed by SU Arun Kumar. The Tamil-language film features the story of Kaali, a former henchman of a mobster who is brought back for a mission to put an end to a police officer. The entire film focuses on the night's journey of how Kaali manages to complete the mission and what it costs him. 6. Thudarum (Malayalam) Cast: Mohanlal, Shobana, Prakash Varma, Farhaan Faasil, Maniyanpilla Raju, Binu Pappu, Irshad Ali, Aarsha Chandini Baiju Director: Tharun Moorthy Genre: Crime Thriller Runtime: 2 hours and 43 minutes Where to watch: JioHotstar Thudarum is a Malayalam film featuring Mohanlal and Shobana in the lead roles. The crime thriller drama focuses on the story of Shanmugham aka Benz, once a stuntman in cinema, who leads a quiet life with his family in a town in Kerala. However, once his son goes missing and what happens to him forces Benz to take revenge on the wrongdoers. 7. Tourist Family (Tamil) Tourist Family features the story of a Sri Lankan family of four who move out of their country due to economic crisis. The film focuses on the family's interaction with the rest of the neighbors after they arrive in Tamil Nadu. 8. HIT: The Third Case (Telugu) Cast: Nani, Srinidhi Shetty, Rao Ramesh, Samuthirakani, Tisca Chopra, Adivi Sesh, Karthi Director: Sailesh Kolanu Genre: Neo-noir Action Thriller Runtime: 2 hours and 30 minutes Where to watch: Netflix HIT: The Third Case, starring Nani in the lead role, was released on the big screens earlier this year. The action thriller film features the story of a ruthless police officer, Arjun Sarkaar, who is sent by the Homicide Intervention Team (HIT) in order to capture a group of serial offenders, leading to a bigger conspiracy at play. The movie was the 3rd installment in the HIT Cinematic Universe, with a fourth installment titled HIT: The Fourth Case in the lineup. 9. Padakkalam (Malayalam) Padakkalam is a supernatural fantasy comedy featuring the tale of four comic nerd friends who suspect their college professor, Renjith, of practicing black magic. After locking horns with him, the rest of the film features how the gang deals with a body swap situation along with another professor, Shaji.
Time of India
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
The lull in Kannada cinema won't last forever: Meghana
The lull in Kannada cinema is a much-debated topic within the industry and among audiences, but actor Meghana Gaonkar is optimistic about the future of the industry. The actor, who has just signed another film with director Gururaj Kulkarni after The Judgement, says, 'There have been so many movies releasing every week in 2025, but not many have fared well. I believe that's just a phase. It doesn't mean that people won't watch our films anymore,' she says. 'OTT IS A BIG CONTENDER; WE NEED TO WORK HARDER' While we might have our complaints about no OTT takers for Kannada cinema, we need to realise that the world of cinema is at our fingertips. You can now watch a movie from another part of the world, and learn more about the language and the culture there. Earlier, content was limited to what was available on television and theatres, but now there's a whole world of cinema waiting to be explored. We need to make content that competes with all of that. 'KANNADA CINEMA NEEDS TO MARKET ITS FILMS MORE EFFECTIVELY' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Scam Exposed: What They Won't Tell You about zero trust! Expertinspector Click Here Undo OTT allows you to watch a movie from the comfort of your home, but people will always love going to the theatres to watch films. Some movies are just meant to be viewed on the big screen. Take Choo Mantar and Murphy, for example. Choo Mantar did well in theatres, but when it was released on OTT, people who did not watch it on the big screen said they missed out on a great film. The same goes for Murphy. Maybe, somewhere, we are falling short on marketing these movies. We just need to be a little more proactive and decide on what to do, especially because there's so much entertainment right at your fingertips. As an industry, we need to explore strategies to encourage audiences to choose the theatrical experience over OTT. 'TODAY'S AUDIENCES ARE SHOWING THEIR INTOLERANCE FOR MISOGYNY IN FILMS' Information is available to everyone, and people are now aware of what's right and what's wrong. Terms like 'feminism' and 'gaslighting', which were less known a decade ago, are now common and major talking points. It's not that feminism is a new concept, but rather the understanding about it is now far more readily available. Audiences who may have once accepted crass content in films are now more likely to criticise it as inappropriate. 'EVEN IN 2025, EQUAL PAY IS FAR FROM BEING A REALITY' When asked what I'd change about the film industry, equal pay for men and women is always my answer. However, people choose to remain silent due to fear of jeopardising future opportunities. I don't make too much noise about this, but I silently walk away from a project if I know I am not being paid enough for my craft. That's my way of standing up to the issue. 'THERE SHOULD BE MUTUAL SUPPORT IN THE FILM INDUSTRY' When film industry members support each other, it fosters a strong sense of community. For instance, when 10 people speak about a film rather than just two or three people from that film, it has a huge impact. Even when a superstar mentions a newcomer's film, their fan base will likely take notice. Check out our list of the latest Hindi , English , Tamil , Telugu , Malayalam , and Kannada movies . Don't miss our picks for the best Hindi movies , best Tamil movies, and best Telugu films .
