Since the OTT boom during the COVID-19 pandemic, film industry pundits have defined the distinction between a small or medium-budget film and a big-ticket film to mostly align with what’s now considered a ‘theatre-worthy film’ and what’s dubbed as a “film best suited for OTT.” While this has proved to be true in some cases, 2025 has been an oddball year for Tamil cinema in particular, as most of its theatrical successes were scripted by small embers that sparked a wildfire among theatregoers. Many titles, like Tourist Family and Kudumbasthan, broke popular notions — that ‘Malayalam-esque realistic’ Tamil films do not perform well — by pulling audiences to the big screen.
Many great titles, like Madras Matinee, Bison Kaalamaadan and Paranthu Po, turned heads and featured in our Top 10 Tamil films of the year list. And yet, the year also saw a long list of small and medium-budget Tamil films that had the spark to bring down the Goliaths, but bafflingly ended up falling short.
Here’s our list of 10 Tamil films, in alphabetical order, that deserved more love from the audience.
Aaromaley
Love never goes out of fashion. Aaromaley comes as a wake-up call for Tamil writers and directors that you don’t need a genre-match-up or an innovative twist in the tale to make a love story count — any love story can touch you, if you know how to tell it right. Aaromaley, starring Kishen Das and Shivathmika Rajashekhar, is a sweet meet-cute we have seen many times before, but one you would still wish to see get renewed for every successive generation. The film, directed by Sarang Thiagu, ticks all the right boxes and has been steadily seeing more interest from the audience post its premiere on Jio Hotstar. A superb backstory revolving around an old wedding photo is enough for Aaramoley to find its place on our list.
Angammal
Director Vipin Radhakrishnan’s film is also part of our Best Tamil Films of 2025 list, and it might just be my top Tamil film of the year. And that many may not have even heard of it is why it finds a place on our list of underrated films of the year. Anchored by a stellar Geetha Kailasam, Angammalreflects on an elderly woman’s resolve to retain her identity, something that gets threatened when her younger son demands she change her ways to impress his prospective in-laws. Vipin’s eloquent film language, visuals, metaphors, performances and music that stay with you all deserve more love from the audiences. Again, one feels frustrated to report that this magnificent cinema hasn’t released on streaming yet.
Gentlewoman
You probably haven’t heard enough being spoken about this Lijomol Jose-starrer because it doesn’t offer the most compelling film experience one could hope for. Streaming on Prime Video, Gentlewoman is a thriller that lacks finesse, and yet, its writing is enough to make two hours of your time worthwhile. The film revolves around the lives of two women who meet uncannily when a man they are both close to mysteriously disappears. In its fabric lies a stirring, existential poem that speaks of how all social restraints affect women at the end of the day. Both as a thriller and as a drama, Gentlewoman will hold your pulse if you are patient enough. It’s a well-written story that deserves attention for how it puts forth its existential ruminations.
Kaadhal Enbadhu Podhu Udamai
Kaadhal Enbadhu Podhu Udamai is far from a perfect film. Audiences accustomed to films that tackle queer love globally might find it somewhat frustratingly simplistic and didactic — surprising from a filmmaker who directed Thalaikoothal. But then, the Tamil mainstream queer cinema is a parched land where a drop of sincerity goes a long way, and in that regard, KEPU is a large oasis of hope. We are dropped in the thick of a storm brewing within a fractured family, as a father and mother struggle to come to terms with the revelation that their daughter is homosexual. Jayaprakash questions the flaws and ironies in cishet-normative arguments — like how even progressive beliefs come with clauses — and makes a compelling case against all those parents who claim to ‘know’ and ‘love’ their children unconditionally but fail when their love and understanding are put to the test. KEPU could have largely benefited from a more imaginative emotional landscape for its queer character, and yet, for the nuances it does bring to the fore, it’s certainly a film that deserves a watch.
Kumaara Sambavam
Can a whodunit exist within the frameworks of a feel-good family drama? Confusing? Director Balaji Venugopal does just that in his extremely satisfying film, Kumaara Sambavam, which bafflingly, at the time of this article, still hasn’t inked a streaming deal — what are streaming platforms even doing? The mysterious death of an acclaimed activist turns the lens on the life of his landlord’s son, the titular Kumar, and his love-hate equation with his family, girlfriend, and the now-dead tenant. Written with conviction, Kumaara Sambavam brims with colour and a sense of fascination for its own characters. It makes you laugh and cry effortlessly, touches on worldly topics like activism organically, and leaves you feeling a lot more content than you were before. At the end of it all, what really strikes you is Balaji’s penchant for taking drama out of both the mundane and the extraordinary aspects of life. Kumaara Sambavam, in the words of Assault Sethu, is a ‘sirappaana, tharamaana sambavam.’’
Love Marriage
Vikram Prabhu and bus rides — easily the most heartwarming love story of 2025! The charming (and criminally underutilised) Vikram Prabhu shines in this humble little romance drama, about a one-of-a-kind bride-viewing ceremony in southern Tamil Nadu. Picture this: you are in your mid-thirties, vexed from all the ridicule for remaining unmarried. You finally find a potential match, but in a hilarious twist of fate, your entourage is restrained and put up at the bride-to-be’s house due to the COVID-19 pandemic-induced lockdown — a predicament that begins to threaten the marriage itself. A remake of the Telugu film Ashoka Vanamlo Arjuna Kalyanam, Love Marriage is an imperfect yet sweet film that will make you smile and feel for all those men weighed down by age-related stigma. Fall in love with this decent flick on Prime Video.
Maargan
A young man with a mythical supernatural power — to be able to swim through time via the astral realm — is suspected to be a serial killer, one who kills young women by injecting a mysterious drug that chars their bodies. It’s okay if you had to read that sentence twice, because this isn’t an easy film to talk about. Think about the last time you watched a wacky ‘supernatural investigative thriller’ in Tamil, and that should tell you enough that this Vijay Antony-starrer isn’t any other film you see on a Friday. Vijay, who also produced the film, deserves a lot of applause for the confidence he has placed in editor-turned-director Leo John Paul. A film that strangely passed on without sparking enough post-release buzz on social media, Maarganis the kind of experimentation we need — it also adds to the curious case of Tamil filmmakers’ compulsion to write sermonic third acts. Even today, it’s hard not to wonder how many wacky ideas in the film wouldn’t make sense anywhere except the world of the film. Maargan is streaming on Prime Video.
Maayakoothu
One of the most thought-provoking Tamil titles from this year, Maayakoothu, deserves a lot of love and praise for how earnestly it delves into a niche topic and makes it palatable with its truly mind-boggling premise. Say you are a fiction writer; what if your own creations come to life and demand justice for how you write their fates? And what if, with every escape you attempt, they keep getting more and more desperate to give you a taste of your own medicine? Maayakoothu, directed by AR Raghavendra, bats for the narrative justice of fictional characters, good or bad. Tapping into humans’ perverse need to play god, it deftly points out an irony in how a creator who plays god doesn’t show his creations the kindness that he believes his own god is incapable of showing. If you find that idea to be too dense and deep, feel free to watch Maayakoothu on Sun NXT and get mindblown.
Naangal
Another film that featured in our Best Tamil Films of 2025 list, Naangal is an ode to the remnants of early life that sear into our hearts and leave an eternal imprint. An earnestly told story of three siblings in 90s Ooty, the coming-of-age film deserves laurels for how it mends an abusive parent and a helpless father into a singular, indispensable entity around whom the joys and woes of the three boys pivot. Naangal, which re-released in select theatres in December, deserves a longer lease of life, on streaming, and a lot of love from all those who care to support such original voices.
Perusu
Perusu, streaming on Netflix, may not work for everyone. In fact, a few barren stretches in this adult comedy make one dream of a better film with a tighter treatment. But then, wait for your jaw to drop when I tell you its premise — it is bound to make one sit right up, no pun intended. When a patriarch of a family suddenly passes away, restraining his family from feeling the weight of his loss is one tiny nuisance — the man passed with a boner that refuses to pass with him. What the family does to save their dignity during the funeral has potential for a laugh riot. If only director Ilango Ram had a creative libido along with irreverent dark humour, up would have certainly been the way to go.
Special Mentions:
House Mates, streaming on ZEE5
Eleven, streaming on Prime Video
Bomb, streaming on Prime Video
Thandakaaranyam, streaming on Prime Video
Stephen, streaming on Netflix
Published – December 30, 2025 04:12 pm IST
