Best South Indian Movies to Watch: 11 Must-See Picks (2026)

The best South Indian movies to watch include Soorarai Pottru, Peranbu, C/o Kancharapalem, Pariyerum Perumal, Drishyam 2, Kumbalangi Nights, Mahanati, Aruvi, Visaaranai and Lucifer. These Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films are known for strong writing and performances, and several of them have been remade in Hindi. Below is the updated list with year, director and where they stream.

South Indian cinema no longer needs a Hindi remake to reach a national audience. Subtitles, dubbed versions and OTT releases mean a Malayalam family drama or a Tamil courtroom story now finds viewers in Delhi and Mumbai within weeks. This list mixes big commercial hits with smaller films that critics rate highly.

Quick facts: best South Indian movies at a glance

10 best South Indian movies every film lover should watch

1. Soorarai Pottru (2020)

Suriya plays a man from a small village who wants to start a low-cost airline so that ordinary people can fly. The story draws on events from the life of G. R. Gopinath and his memoir Simply Fly, though the makers say it is not a biopic. Aparna Balamurali and Paresh Rawal co-star.

The film skipped theatres and premiered on Amazon Prime Video in November 2020. It won five National Film Awards, including Best Feature Film, Best Actor for Suriya and Best Actress for Aparna Balamurali. Sudha Kongara later remade it in Hindi as Sarfira (2024) with Akshay Kumar.

2. Peranbu (2019)

Directed by Ram, Peranbu stars Mammootty as a father raising his disabled teenage daughter alone after his wife leaves. Neighbours shun them, and the film follows his attempts to find a place where they can live with dignity. Sadhana plays the daughter and Anjali co-stars.

The film premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam before its 2019 release. It is a slow, quiet drama, and Mammootty’s restrained performance is the main reason to watch it.

3. C/o Kancharapalem (2018)

Venkatesh Maha’s debut tells four love stories set in Kancharapalem, a neighbourhood of Visakhapatnam. More than 80 non-actors, most of them locals, make up the cast, which gives the film a lived-in feel.

The Telugu film has been remade in Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam. Film Companion named it among the 25 best Telugu films of the decade.

4. Pariyerum Perumal (2018)

Mari Selvaraj’s first film follows a Dalit law student in Tirunelveli who falls for an upper-caste classmate. Her family responds with violence, and the film looks hard at caste without turning into a lecture. Kathir and Anandhi play the leads, and Pa. Ranjith produced it.

It won Best Film at the Filmfare Awards South and is on Amazon Prime Video. The Hindi remake, Dhadak 2, released in 2025.

5. Drishyam 2 (2021)

Mohanlal returns as Georgekutty, the cable operator who hid a crime to protect his family in Drishyam (2013). Six years later, the police reopen the case, and Jeethu Joseph builds the tension slowly before a sharp final act.

The Malayalam film released directly on Amazon Prime Video in February 2021. Ajay Devgn’s Hindi Drishyam 2 followed in 2022. The story continued in Drishyam 3, which released in theatres on 21 May 2026 and began streaming on Prime Video on 18 June 2026.

6. Kumbalangi Nights (2019)

Four brothers live in a run-down house in the fishing village of Kumbalangi near Kochi. They fight all the time, but a romance and a stranger’s arrival force them to grow up. Written by Syam Pushkaran and directed by Madhu C. Narayanan, it stars Shane Nigam, Soubin Shahir, Sreenath Bhasi and Mathew Thomas.

Fahadh Faasil, who also co-produced the film, plays Shammi, one of the most unsettling characters in recent Malayalam cinema. The film won four Kerala State Film Awards.

7. Mahanati (2018)

Nag Ashwin’s biopic traces the rise and decline of actress Savitri. Keerthy Suresh plays Savitri and Dulquer Salmaan plays Gemini Ganesan, with Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Vijay Deverakonda in supporting roles. The Tamil version is titled Nadigaiyar Thilagam.

Keerthy Suresh won the National Film Award for Best Actress, and the film won Best Telugu Feature Film. Amazon Prime Video holds its digital rights.

8. Aruvi (2017)

Aditi Balan plays Aruvi, a young woman whose story comes out during a reality TV show confrontation that turns into a hostage situation. The film deals with how society treats people living with HIV, and mixes dark comedy with serious drama.

It was Arun Prabu Purushothaman’s first film as director. Amazon Prime Video premiered it in January 2018.

9. Visaaranai (2016)

Vetrimaaran adapted M. Chandrakumar’s novel Lock Up into this story of four labourers who are tortured by police into confessing to a theft they did not commit. Dinesh, Samuthirakani and Anandhi lead the cast.

Visaaranai premiered at the Venice Film Festival and was India’s official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 89th Academy Awards. It won three National Film Awards, including Best Tamil Feature Film.

10. Lucifer (2019)

Prithviraj Sukumaran’s directorial debut is a political thriller written by Murali Gopy. After a chief minister dies, a power struggle breaks out inside his party, and Mohanlal’s Stephen Nedumpally steps in. Manju Warrier, Tovino Thomas and Vivek Oberoi co-star.

The sequel, L2: Empuraan, released on 27 March 2025, and a third film, L3: Azrael, has been announced. Chiranjeevi’s Telugu remake was titled Godfather. Lucifer streams on Amazon Prime Video.

Newer pick: Manjummel Boys (2024)

Chidambaram’s survival drama is based on a 2006 incident at the Guna Caves in Kodaikanal, where a young man fell into a deep pit and a friend went down on a rope to bring him out. Soubin Shahir and Sreenath Bhasi lead the cast.

Made on a budget of about Rs 20 crore, it earned about Rs 242 crore worldwide and became the first Malayalam film to cross Rs 200 crore. It won Best Film at the 55th Kerala State Film Awards and streams on JioHotstar (earlier Disney+ Hotstar).

Why these films work for Hindi audiences

Most of these films are small in scale but strong on story. Caste, police violence, disability and family pressure are treated with honesty, and the performances stay grounded. Several are now available with Hindi dubs or subtitles, so language is not a barrier.

For more picks, browse our movies section and the listicles archive.

Frequently asked questions

Sources: Soorarai Pottru (Wikipedia), Drishyam 3 (Wikipedia), Manjummel Boys (Wikipedia), Lucifer (Wikipedia).