4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
2025 half-yearly report: Where to stream the 6 best Tamil films (so far) on OTT right now
As we are about to complete six months of 2025, it is fair and honest to say that Tamil cinema witnessed a middling first half. With sporadic success and a reasonable share of disappointments, the industry saw a mixed bag of good and bad films. Amid star releases, some quality films, and experimentation, we list you six Tamil films that stand out and where to find them on streaming. (in no particular order) Tourist Family, Dragon
Watch more 2025 Tamil films, from Bottle Radha to Murmur and Kingston, on OTTplay Premium right now
Kudumbasthan
Kudumbasthan is a family drama which takes a comical route to explore the life of a middle-class family somewhere in Coimbatore as the bread-winning man of the house loses his job. Directed by Rajeshwar Kalisamy in his debut, Kudumbasthan takes on a hilarious ride, oozing relatability and drama. Tamil actor Manikandan plays the leading man, while the rest of the cast of Kudumbasthan includes Saanve Meghana, R Sundarrajan, Guru Somasundaram, Kudassanad Kanakam, and Nivedita Rajappan among others. Vidaamuyarchi – Netflix
Vidaamuyarchi is an action thriller headlined by Tamil actor Ajith Kumar and directed by Magizh Thirumeni. Featuring Ajith and Trisha as a husband and wife on the verge of separation, the film revolves around a road trip that the couple take together, only for the wife to be abducted, leaving the husband stranded and clueless about her whereabouts. Based on Hollywood film Breakdown, Vidaamuyarchi stripped Ajith off his stardom, and presented him more as a commoner - a man with vulnerability, a rarity in Tamil cinema. With the star ensemble including Arjun, Regina Cassandra and Arav, the film was extensively shot in Azerbaijan. Dragon – Netflix
Dragon, directed by Ashwath Marimuthu and starring actor-filmmaker Pradeep Ranganathan in the lead role, is essentially a coming-of-age film about a young man who turns from being studious school student to a college-goer with over 18 arrears. But when a day comes that he has to go back to his college to finish his pending papers, he is in for a ride that he never expected to take. Dragon also features Anupama Parameswaran, Kayadu Lohar, Mysskin, Gautham Vasudev Menon, KS Ravikumar and George Maryan in important roles, and is a commercial potboiler which resonated with the young audience. Retro – Netflix
Retro is an action drama with the essence of romance and family feud. Featuring actor Suriya in his maiden collaboration with director Karthik Subbaraj, Retro is about an adopted son of a gangster who seems to finally leave his violence behind to settle down with his lover. But as fate has it, he ends up becoming a saviour of his own folks who are ruled ruthlessly by a cult and fulfills a prophecy. It features Pooja Hegde, Joju George, Jayaram, and others. Tourist Family – JioHotstar
Tourist Family, directed by Abhishan Jeevinth, is a family drama featuring Sasikumar, Simran, Mithun Jaishankar, MS Bhaskar, Ramesh Thilak, and others. The film traces the journey of a Sri Lankan Tamil refugee family from the moment they land in Tamil Nadu and how they try to fit into the society while not revealing their true identity. Tourist Family was critically acclaimed and went on to become a box office success, for its endearing performances and writing. Veera Dheera Sooran: Part 2 – Prime Video
Veera Dheera Sooran: Part 2, with Vikram in the lead role, is directed by SU Arun Kumar. With the makers choosing to release the sequel beforehand, the action drama is about the powerplay between an egoistic police officer and a hotshot family who seem to play a cat-and-mouse chase. The protagonist, a grocery shop owner who has left his violent ways, gets caught between both the parties. Praised for its unique screenplay, the film also features Dushara Vijayan, SJ Suryah and Suraj Venjaramoodu.
