Best Tamil movies to watch
By the KyaDekhu team · Updated · Availability for India from JustWatch, ratings from IMDb
The highest-rated Tamil movies streaming in India right now, ranked by vote-weighted IMDb rating. Every pick is on a subscription or free app today.
50 titles across 1 language, average IMDb rating 8.3.
1. Jai Bhim (2021)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 44m · A · Crime, Drama · IMDb 8.6 (2.4L votes)
A pregnant woman from a primitive tribal community, searches desperately for her husband, who is missing from police custody. So as to find her husband and seek justice for them, as their voice, a High Court advocate rises in support. Will their battle for justice succeed?
Feels like: dark, gritty edges + edge-of-seat suspense
2. Soorarai Pottru (2020)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 29m · U · Drama, Action · IMDb 8.6 (1.3L votes)
Nedumaaran Rajangam "Maara" sets out to make the common man fly and in the process takes on the world's most capital intensive industry and several enemies who stand in his way.
Feels like: family-friendly fun + big-screen spectacle
3. Rocketry: The Nambi Effect (2022)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 34m · UA · Drama, History · IMDb 8.6 (63K votes)
The story of the great Indian rocket scientist, Shri Nambi Narayanan's life, a true patriot, who was turned into a villain in the blink of an eye after being falsely accused of treason.
Feels like: mind-bending twists + family-friendly fun
4. Anbe Sivam (2003)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 40m · U · Comedy, Drama · IMDb 8.6 (29K votes)
Anbarasu, young and arrogant, and Nallasivam, damaged - physically but not spiritually - by life, are thrown together by circumstances, and find that they are in some ways bound together by fate.
Feels like: big-hearted warmth + family-friendly fun
5. Nayakan (1987)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 36m · A · Drama, Crime · IMDb 8.6 (28K votes)
Velu Naicker, who witnesses the brutal murder of his father, kills a corrupt policeman and escapes to Mumbai, only to become a gangster.
Feels like: dark, gritty edges + edge-of-seat suspense
6. Kaithi (2019)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 27m · UA · Action, Thriller · IMDb 8.4 (53K votes)
Dilli, a convicted criminal, is out on parole to meet his daughter. However, a drug bust sets him off on a mission to save the life of police officers.
Feels like: breakneck pacing + big-screen spectacle
7. Pariyerum Perumal (2018)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 35m · U · Romance, Drama · IMDb 8.6 (21K votes)
A law student from a lower caste begins a friendship with his classmate, a girl who belongs to a higher caste, and the men in her family start giving him trouble over this.
Feels like: dark, gritty edges + edge-of-seat suspense
8. 96 (2018)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 39m · U · Romance · IMDb 8.4 (47K votes)
Ram is a photographer and nature lover who travels all around India capturing moments. On a chance visit to his hometown Tanjavur, he goes into his school and begins to walk down memory lane to 1994 when he was a student harboring feelings for his classmate Janu.
Feels like: big-hearted warmth + family-friendly fun
9. Peranbu (2019)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 27m · U · Drama, Family · IMDb 8.6 (19K votes)
A single father tries to raise his daughter, who has cerebral palsy, even as she is beginning to wake up to her sexuality.
Feels like: big-hearted warmth + family-friendly fun
10. Vikram (2022)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 54m · UA · Action, Crime · IMDb 8.3 (92K votes)
Amar is assigned to investigate a case of serial killings. When Amar investigates the case, he realizes it is not what it seems to be and following down this path will lead to nothing but war between everyone involved.
Feels like: big-screen spectacle + mind-bending twists
11. Maharaja (2024)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 21m · UA · Action, Thriller · IMDb 8.3 (87K votes)
A barber seeks vengeance after his home is burglarized, cryptically telling police his "Lakshmi" has been taken, leaving them uncertain if it's a person or object, jeer at his request until they learn what they're really looking for.
Feels like: mind-bending twists + breakneck pacing
12. Asuran (2019)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 21m · UA · Action, Drama · IMDb 8.4 (38K votes)
A family from the underprivileged class is on the run after the teenaged son kills a rich man from the upper caste. Can the pacifist father be able to save his hot-blooded son?
Feels like: edge-of-seat suspense + dark, gritty edges
13. Meiyazhagan (2024)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 57m · U · Family, Drama · IMDb 8.5 (25K votes)
Twenty-two years after losing his home, Arulmozhi Varman returns to his native Thanjavur to attend his cousin's wedding. Amidst the celebrations, Arul is reintroduced to an upbeat man whom he cannot recall. With the help of the unknown man, Arul reconnects with his past.
Feels like: family-friendly fun + big-hearted warmth
14. Ratsasan (2018)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 50m · UA · Thriller, Crime · IMDb 8.3 (61K votes)
A serial killer is murdering school girls, and a newbie cop has to track him down before the victim count increases.
Feels like: mind-bending twists + dark, gritty edges
15. Sarpatta Parambarai (2021)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 54m · UA · History, Action · IMDb 8.4 (29K votes)
When Sarpatta Parambarai is challenged to a do-or-die match, Kabilan, a young labourer, must choose whether to put on the gloves himself and lead his clan to victory, or be dissuaded by his disapproving mother and dangerous politics.
Feels like: big-screen spectacle + edge-of-seat suspense
16. Anniyan (2005)
Movie · Tamil · 3h 1m · U · Action, Drama · IMDb 8.4 (27K votes)
Unable to tolerate society's injustices and devastated by rejection from the woman he loves, a meek lawyer develops a split personality: one side a vengeful vigilante killer punishing evildoers, the other a dashing playboy capable of winning her heart. Complications arise when the three sides begin to collide.
Feels like: mind-bending twists + dark, gritty edges
17. Vada Chennai (2018)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 46m · A · Crime, Drama · IMDb 8.4 (25K votes)
Anbu, a young carrom player in North Chennai becomes inadvertently involved in an ongoing conflict between two local gangsters.
Feels like: mind-bending twists + big-screen spectacle
18. Thani Oruvan (2015)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 39m · U · Thriller, Action · IMDb 8.4 (25K votes)
An idealistic cop and an ambitious scientist-businessman indulge in a high-stake battle of wits.
Feels like: mind-bending twists + edge-of-seat suspense
19. Kadaisi Vivasayi (2022)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 25m · Drama · IMDb 8.7 (11K votes)
Maayandi, the only farmer in a village that has abandoned farming, is charged with a petty case that leads to his imprisonment.
Feels like: family-friendly fun + dark, gritty edges
20. Thalapathi (1991)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 37m · UA · Action, Crime · IMDb 8.5 (16K votes)
Surya, a courageous man who was raised in the slums, fights for the rights of the poor and befriends Deva, who hires him as his commander and changes his life completely.
Feels like: big-screen spectacle + dark, gritty edges
21. Vikram Vedha (2017)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 27m · UA · Action, Thriller · IMDb 8.2 (56K votes)
A notorious gangster Vedha surrenders himself to encounter specialist Vikram whom he challenges every step of the way by narrating his life events in the form of riddles that needs to be solved in order to capture him.
Feels like: mind-bending twists + edge-of-seat suspense
22. Thuppakki (2012)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 50m · U · Action, Thriller · IMDb 8.1 (42K votes)
Captain Jagadish, an intelligence officer in the Indian Army, returns to Mumbai for a vacation but soon finds himself in a deadly mission. After witnessing a bus bombing, he uncovers a network of sleeper cells planning multiple attacks across the city. With no official backing, he embarks on a personal mission with his
Feels like: breakneck pacing + edge-of-seat suspense
23. Kaththi (2014)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 47m · U · Action, Drama · IMDb 8.1 (33K votes)
Kathiresan aka Kaththi, a criminal, escapes from the Kolkata prison and comes to Chennai, where he comes across his doppelganger Jeevanandham, fighting for his life after being shot at by unknown men. Kathir decides to pass off as Jeeva and make away with a lump sum amount but once he realizes who Jeeva really is, Kath
Feels like: edge-of-seat suspense + big-screen spectacle
24. Aruvi (2017)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 2m · U · Drama · IMDb 8.3 (15K votes)
A gentle girl born and brought up amidst the ever growing eco-social-consumeristic environment finds it difficult to fit in the society. She decides to take it hard on the people.
Feels like: mind-bending twists + dark, gritty edges
25. Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru (2017)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 37m · UA · Action, Thriller · IMDb 8.2 (20K votes)
A hardnosed cop goes after a gang of ruthless dacoits who have been terrorising residents along the highway for a decade.
Feels like: big-screen spectacle + edge-of-seat suspense
26. Maanaadu (2021)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 27m · UA · Thriller, Action · IMDb 8.1 (28K votes)
A Muslim man, who is stuck in a time loop, has to stop a political rally from taking place in order to save the state's chief minister and prevent religious violence.
Feels like: mind-bending twists + breakneck pacing
27. Baasha (1995)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 25m · U · Action, Crime · IMDb 8.3 (14K votes)
Auto rickshaw driver Manickam avoids violence at all costs. When some thugs begin to intimidate Manickam's family, it triggers the revival of Manickam's old self.
Feels like: edge-of-seat suspense + dark, gritty edges
28. Amaran (2024)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 49m · UA · Action, Drama · IMDb 8.1 (25K votes)
A heroic true story of Major Mukund Varadarajan, an Indian Army officer who displayed extraordinary bravery during a counterterrorism mission in Kashmir’s Shopian district. The film captures his courage in protecting his nation and the devotion of his wife Indhu Rebecaa Varghese.
Feels like: big-screen spectacle + edge-of-seat suspense
29. Virumaandi (2004)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 55m · A · Drama, Action · IMDb 8.4 (9.9K votes)
Angela, a civil advocate interviewing inmates at the Madras Central Prison for a documentary on the death penalty meets Virumaandi and Kothaala, who are sentenced to death and life respectively for their roles in perpetrating the massacre of 24 people during a brutal clash between feuding villages. As tensions mount wi
Feels like: mind-bending twists + dark, gritty edges
30. Pudhupettai (2006)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 59m · Action, Drama · IMDb 8.4 (9.9K votes)
The story of ‘Kokki’ Kumar, a carefree teenager from a Chennai slum who runs away from home in the wake of his mother’s death, gets recruited into a local gang and quickly evolves into the dreaded, psychotic right-hand man of a dirty politician.
Feels like: breakneck pacing + edge-of-seat suspense
31. Jigarthanda (2014)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 50m · UA · Music, Crime · IMDb 8.2 (15K votes)
A budding director endeavors to research a merciless gangster for making a film on gangsterism. But his secret attempts to conduct the research fail when he gets caught for snooping.
Feels like: mind-bending twists + sharp humour
32. Michael Madana Kama Rajan (1990)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 47m · U · Comedy · IMDb 8.5 (8.1K votes)
A wicked man separates a set of quadruplets after their birth and one of them ends up with their biological father, while the other three find new homes. Things take a turn after they meet each other.
Feels like: sharp humour + mind-bending twists
33. Dhuruvangal Pathinaaru (2016)
Movie · Tamil · 1h 46m · UA · Thriller, Action · IMDb 8.1 (19K votes)
A former cop looks back on the case which left him disabled and forced him to quit the force.
Feels like: mind-bending twists + edge-of-seat suspense
34. Iruvar (1997)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 20m · History, Drama · IMDb 8.4 (9.1K votes)
A fictionalized account of the lives of 1980s Tamil Nadu political icons M. G. Ramachandran and M. Karunanidhi, continuing the tryst between Tamil cinema and Dravidian politics.
Feels like: family-friendly fun + big-screen spectacle
35. Kannathil Muthamittal (2002)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 17m · U · Drama, War · IMDb 8.3 (11K votes)
A little girl is told by her parents that she is adopted. Determined to find her birth mother, her family eventually agrees to take her to Sri Lanka, where they encounter the militant group known as the Tamil Tigers.
Feels like: big-screen spectacle + mind-bending twists
36. Soodhu Kavvum (2013)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 18m · U · Comedy, Thriller · IMDb 8.2 (14K votes)
Dass specialises in small time kidnapping and has his own set of rules. The primary and most important among them is not to get involved with influential people. Three jobless youngsters meet Dass and the four take up an assignment for a hefty sum that throws away this primary rule and end up being chased by a dreaded
Feels like: sharp humour + mind-bending twists
37. Mandela (2021)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 20m · Comedy, Drama · IMDb 8.3 (10K votes)
An underprivileged hairdresser becomes the game changer in a local body election in a village where caste politics rules the roost. Will he be able to bring some changes to people's lives?
Feels like: sharp humour + family-friendly fun
38. Karnan (2021)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 32m · UA · Drama, Action · IMDb 8.0 (25K votes)
Karnan, an angry young man, fights for the rights of his oppressed people. Can he save them from those who wield power and weapons?
Feels like: dark, gritty edges + big-screen spectacle
39. Tourist Family (2025)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 8m · U · Comedy, Drama · IMDb 8.1 (17K votes)
A quirky Sri Lankan family seeking a fresh start in India transforms a disconnected neighborhood into a vibrant community with their infectious love and kindness.
Feels like: big-hearted warmth + family-friendly fun
40. Indian (1996)
Movie · Tamil · 3h 5m · U · Drama, Action · IMDb 8.1 (16K votes)
Senapathy, an ex-freedom fighter, is angry. He is angry against the rampant corruption at every level of the bureaucracy. He will clean it up at any cost.
Feels like: edge-of-seat suspense + dark, gritty edges
41. Vishwaroopam (2013)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 27m · UA · Action, Thriller · IMDb 7.9 (44K votes)
Vishwanathan, a Kathak dance teacher in New York, is happy in his marriage with Nirupama, a nuclear oncologist who married him to pursue higher studies in the USA. Deciding to cut ties with her husband, Nirupama hires a private detective to monitor his activities. To her utter shock, certain truths about her husband ar
Feels like: mind-bending twists + big-screen spectacle
42. Bombay (1995)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 21m · Drama, Romance · IMDb 8.1 (15K votes)
A Hindu man and a Muslim woman fall in love in a small village and move to Mumbai, where they have two children. However, growing religious tensions and erupting riots threaten to tear the family apart.
Feels like: big-hearted warmth + big-screen spectacle
43. Kaaka Muttai (2015)
Movie · Tamil · 1h 49m · U · Drama · IMDb 8.3 (9.4K votes)
Two slum kids yearn to taste a pizza after being enticed by the pizza shop that has opened near their locality. What happens when they manage to find the money to buy one?
Feels like: family-friendly fun + big-hearted warmth
44. Roja (1992)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 17m · U · Drama, Action · IMDb 8.1 (15K votes)
Roja, a simple girl from a village in Tamil Nadu, makes desperate efforts to find her husband, Rishi, after he is kidnapped by militants during a secret undercover mission in Kashmir.
Feels like: edge-of-seat suspense + big-hearted warmth
45. Alaipayuthey (2000)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 36m · U · Romance, Drama · IMDb 8.3 (9.1K votes)
Karthik and Shakthi marry against the wishes of their families and start their new life. However, they soon realize that marriage is not the bed of roses they had imagined it would be.
Feels like: mind-bending twists + big-hearted warmth
46. Love Today (2022)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 34m · UA · Comedy, Romance · IMDb 8.0 (19K votes)
A young couple is made to exchange their phones for a day. What follows is a hilarious and emotional sequence of events that puts their lives in misery.
Feels like: sharp humour + mind-bending twists
47. 24 (2016)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 44m · U · Action, Science Fiction · IMDb 7.9 (27K votes)
Scientist turned Entrepreneur Dr. Sethuraman tries to safeguard his newly invented time travel device from falling into the hands of his Evil Twin Brother Aathreya.
Feels like: mind-bending twists + edge-of-seat suspense
48. Chithha (2023)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 19m · Drama, Thriller · IMDb 8.2 (9.8K votes)
Easwaran, a young government employee gets the shock of his life when his niece Sundari goes missing. After initially wrongly accused of kidnapping her, he eventually comes to know that a child abuser has kidnapped her and he makes it his mission to rescue Sundari.
Feels like: dark, gritty edges + edge-of-seat suspense
49. Viduthalai: Part I (2023)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 26m · A · Action, Thriller · IMDb 8.1 (12K votes)
Kumaresan, a police constable, gets recruited for an operation implanted to capture Perumal Vaathiyar, who leads a separatist group dedicated to fighting against the authorities for committing atrocities against innocent village women in the name of police interrogations.
Feels like: mind-bending twists + big-screen spectacle
50. Deiva Thirumagal (2011)
Movie · Tamil · 2h 42m · Drama, Family · IMDb 8.3 (7.6K votes)
An intellectually disabled man fights for custody of his 7-year-old daughter, and in the process teaches his opponent lawyer the value of love and family.
Feels like: big-hearted warmth + family-friendly fun
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- Which is the best Tamil movies?
- Jai Bhim currently ranks #1 among Tamil movies we track.
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