ENTERTAINMENT
Yearender: New heroes, key losses, best of and the biggest news in South films in 2025
In 2025, Thalapathy Vijay announced his retirement from cinema, Rashmika Mandanna gave us much to think about in 'The Girlfriend', Dulquer Salman-backed 'Lokah: Chapter 1' paved a path for new female-led narratives, small films like 'Tourist Family' won big and judgment in the Dileep case came in after 8-plus years.
ENTERTAINMENT
Lubber Pandhu review: Tamil cricket film with a big heart pays homage to 'Lagaan', 'Chennai 600028'
'Lubber Pandhu' (Rubber Ball) is set to release on Disney+Hotstar in October. Writer-director Tamizharasan Pachamuthu captures the flavours of small-town life while also paying homage to the late actor and politician Vijayakanth in his directorial debut.
TRENDS
How lady superstars from Manju Warrier to Trisha are changing the script when it comes to film roles women get after 40
From Simran, Jyotika and Sneha who recently returned as the female lead opposite Vijay in GOAT, to Nayanthara, Samantha, Nithya Menen and Rashmika Mandanna, women in Indian cinema are redrawing the boundaries between their personal and professional lives and rewriting the rules around age-appropriate roles for women in cinema.
ENTERTAINMENT
From 'Naam Iruvar' to Pa Ranjith’s 'Thangalaan', shades of 'freedom' in Tamil cinema
Cinema for propaganda is still a great tool for spreading awareness. In Tamil cinema, stalwarts like A.V. Meiyappan Chettiar and Subramanya Bharathi, S.S. Vasan, CN Annadurai, M. Karunanidhi, MG Ramachandran, K. Balachander, Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth, Mani Ratnam and Ilayaraaja, and now Pa Ranjith have kept the fire burning since the 1940s.
