Yearender: New heroes, key losses, best of and the biggest news in South films in 2025

2025 in review: While actors Dhruv Vikram ('Bison') and Rashmika Mandanna ('The Girlfriend') gave us big box-office hits that also garnered critical acclaim this year, actor Vijay announced his retirement from the movies. (All images via Instagram)

Just as the year was drawing to a close on a comparative high, Malayalam cinema lost one of its brightest minds: writer-actor-director Sreenivasan was a luminary who changed the trajectory of “the common man” on the silver screen. Mohanlal often played the lead in his films. And Sreenivasan’s trademark humour and social satire came to the fore with characters and screenplay that became trendsetting.

You could see that Sreenivasan and Mohanlal had a long history of making superhit films. On the sets of the millennial blockbuster 'Udhayananu Thaaram', for instance, their conversation flowed with wit, candour and anecdotes; it was like watching “Dasan and Vijayan” LIVE (Mohanlal and Sreenivasan from their iconic 'Nadodikaattu' trilogy). The vibe is tough to describe in words, and can best be seen on-screen to know how much synergy the two of them had.

A film-school contemporary of Rajinikanth, Sreenivasan often said that the films he’d written for Priyadarshan and Mohanlal were his love letters to them and to the audience. He also mentioned how all human beings are flawed and a writer’s challenge is to ensure the audience feels an empathy towards even a vile aspect of a character (and Sreenivasan has played such roles with aplomb, too). The sheer variety and volume of Sreenivasan’s writing was so vast that an entire generation grew up on a plethora of his films from the 1980s.

2025 also gave us some key moments, milestones and movies in South Indian cinema. Here are some highlights, to remember the year gone by:

1. Tamil cinema got a new icon representing Gen Z on-screen. Pradeep Ranganathan made the most of the trending loser-turned-hero trope and gave not one but three super-hits, beginning with his directorial 'Love Today’, then Ashwath Marimuthu’s 'Dragon’ and 'Dude’ (both 2025 releases). The misogyny in 'Dude’ was jarring and one wished that Pradeep could have represented Gen Z with a better sense of equality on screen. Now, just for comparison, 'Premalu’, also a Gen Z film, was cool, funny and its woman lead (Mamitha Baiju) had a sense of agency. In 'Dude’, we saw the same actor reduced to playing a character who was merely the source of all the hero’s trouble. 'Premalu’ didn’t make “a fuss” about educating its hero (a natural Gen-Z actor Nasleen) on how a woman views her relationships, friendships and, above all, love.

2. Tamil filmgoers also gave a thumbs up to “the return of the middle class” in 'Tourist Family’ in 2025. A small-budget film with a large heart that espoused simple values and universal brotherhood, it won big at the box-office. Another middle-class rural film also won big in 2025: 'Thalaivan-Thalaivi', the Vijay Sethupathy and Nitya Menen starrer, was an in-your-face reprisal that reminded one of the Micheal Douglas - Kathleen Turner film 'The War of the Roses'.

3. In 2025, Tamil movie audiences also welcomed new filmmakers like Sarang Thiagu ('Aaromaley'), Harikumaran ('Kinaru'), Varsha Barath ('Bad Girl') and Avinash Prakash ('Naangal') who dared to break norms.

4. If 2025 in Tamil cinema could belong to one film, it would have to be Mari Selvaraj’s 'Bison Kaalamaadan'. The film bulldozed its way to both box-office success and critical acclaim. Produced by Sameer Nair’s Applause Entertainment, 'Bison' spoke of a father and son’s struggle to triumph against all odds (played to perfection by Pasupathy with an able Dhruv Vikram). Pasupathy’s angst-ridden portrayal will be in the annals of best performances of all time.

5. 2025 also brought in a new sound to film music, with Sai Abhyankkar's indie songs becoming all the rage. Then, there was "Oorum Blood" from 'Dude'. And now, a plethora of films with Abhayankkar's music awaiting release in 2026.

6. 2025 was also the year of Ajith the racer, whose interviews and international sporting glory garnered him even more fans. Filmmaker A.L. Vijay has said he is now documenting Ajith's motor-sporting journey. Ajith had one superhit in 2025: 'Good Bad Ugly'. Its reprisal of the '90s chartbuster "Thottu thottu pesum sultana" was among the good things the film had going for it.

7. 2025 will be remembered as the year when Tamil cinema icon Vijay bid adieu to cinema, with his last film 'Jananayagan' slated to open in January 2026. Will the coming year be a political landmark for Vijay? We will have to wait and watch.

8. For South film lovers, perhaps the most awaited announcements of 2025 were a) the “coming together” of Kamal Haasan (as producer) and Rajinikanth (as hero) in Thalaivar 173 (placeholder title) and b) the news that Ramkumar Balakrishnan (of 'Parking' fame) will helm the film for Raaj Kamal Films. With longtime icons and contemporary creative minds working together, this collab is sure to be interesting.

9. If we had to pick one language/state in the south and one visionary producer who stood out in 2025, it would have to be Malayalam and Dulquer Salman. He backed Dominic Arun and team on 'Lokah: Chapter 1 - Chandra', which paved a new path for female-led narratives. The start of a superhero franchise, the film’s success is a reminder that going against the grain can sometimes help to gather big wins.

10. The year also marked the return of the fabulous Mammootty as a menacing villain, in 'Kalamkaaval'. Earlier in the year, his contemporary Mohanlal had raked up a box-office storm with 'Thudarum'. In 2026, both are expected to rock the box office with Mahesh Narayanan’s 'Patriot'. Individually, the third installment in Mohanlal's blockbuster 'Drishyam' movie - with Jeethu Joseph - is also set for release next year.

11. 'Rekhachitram' ensured Asif Ali a place in the Malayalam Hall of Fame in 2025, and also added a star to the growing repertoire of Anaswara Rajan. Asif Ali is becoming a hit machine in the Malayalam film industry, with consecutive blockbusters in 'Kishkinthakadam' and 'Rekhachitram'.

12. 'L2 Empuraan' saw Prithviraj Sukumaran, the director, up his game with his filmmaking standards, while Basil Joseph had 'Ponman' to boast of. The two also starred in a football league commercial which was simply hilarious to watch.

13. Two small Malayalam films also made a big mark. 'Thalavara' that had the brilliant Arjunan Asokan, and 'Mr and Mrs Bachelor' was a perfect romcom with a suave Indrajith and Anaswara Rajan (that restaurant scene is killer).

14. The success of 'Eko', 'Dies Irae' and 'Ronth' reinforced that when it comes to suspense/crime thrillers, Malayalam cinema still rules the roost.

15. Kannada gave us a rousing sequel to 'Kantara' in its part 2, chapter 1 (with a riveting Rukmini Vasanth - watch out for her; she will be a big name in the South in 2026). This year also marks 90 years since the first Kannada film 'Sati Sulochana' hit the screen.

16. Kannada’s relatively small-budget but very well-made film 'Su from So', gave us an actor to watch - Shaneel Goutham is unforgettable as Ravi Anna. J.P. Thuminad’s break-out horror-comedy was both thought-provoking and entertaining.

17. In Telugu cinema, the year began on a festive note for Anil Ravipudi and Victory Venkatesh in the “family comedy” 'Sankranthiki Vasthunaam'. This film saw the “return of Venky” in a hark-back comic avatar. And Anil recently released a song from his upcoming Chiranjeevi film 'Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu' that’s made this Telugu movie one-to-watch in 2026.

18. Speaking of larger-than-life movies, the ultimate testimony to computer-graphics and AI-led content that made the cash registers roar this year was 'Mahavatar Narsimha'. From kids to grandparents, this film underlined how Telugu cinema can pull an ace when it comes to reprising mythologies for the screen.

19. National-crush Rashmika Mandanna shouldered Rahul Ravindran’s Telugu film 'The Girlfriend' to much aplomb and attention. It makes one hope that such simple narratives helmed by our stellar heroines continue to grow in 2026.

20. 2025 also saw one voice, one song outplay all others: The song is "Muththa Mazhai" from 'ThugLife'. The music by A.R. Rahman is a companion piece to classic "Kannalane". It was penned by Siva Ananth (who also wrote the soulful "Alaikadal Aazham" in 'Ponniyin Selvan') and was first sung by Chinmayi on stage. The musical prowess of this song and the lyrics that speak of a woman’s longing and love, connected instantly with the audience and became a calling card for the film itself. "Muththa Mazhai" can be termed Chinmayi Sripada’s “comeback” song, as she was facing a shadow ban after accusing lyricist Vairamuthu of sexual harassment in 2018.

21. In December 2025, a District and Sessions Court judge in Ernakulam acquitted actor Dileep of conspiring in the abduction and rape of a Malayalam film actress in a moving car in 2017. The survivor’s courage to register a complaint against the superstar opened up a path for more women to speak up against harassment. It also paved the way for the formation of the Hema Committee. In 2024, the Hema Committee Report highlighted deep-rooted inequality between men and women in the Malayalam film industry, widespread sexual harassment, and lack of a grievance mechanism to report such cases. It called for corrective action to be taken to protect women from sexual harassment. In this sense, at least, the Survivor vs Dileep case became a watershed moment for women in cinema and society (actor Prithviraj was the only prominent name who reposted the survivor’s statement).

22. In 2025, superstar Rajinikanth showed us in 'Coolie' that he still has what it takes to be the king of style and performance (complete with a good monologue), though the film left much to be desired except for Anirudh’s rousing song "Monica" with a robust Shaubin.

23. Karthik Subbaraj’s craft shone in that single shot sequence in 'Retro' that could be termed as Suriya’s return to playing a romantic hero with a nuanced layer of performance not seen earlier (Suriya in the Senorita montage and the mirror scene is a treat to watch).

24. Nalan Kumarasamy’s return to the big screen after nearly a decade will be with Karthi’s 'Vaa Vaathiyaar' (it was supposed to release on December 5, then December 12, and then December 24, but the release has been postponed because of a court order on repayment of loans). The trailer, which was both intriguing and funny, showed us how the legacy of MGR lives on in many ways and many corners of Tamil Nadu.

25. South OTT shows had one clear winner in 2025 — 'Heart Beat', with its heartthrob Karthik Kumar adding a whole new fan base of all age groups. 'Heart Beat' addresses some bold themes and keeps it real. Refreshingly, the women in the show have as much agency as the men. Women have greater say, and power over, the romantic arcs that unfold, and there is an “ideal, take home lover/husband” character in Karthik Kumar’s Dr Vijay. Plus, the core plots for each season have enough intrigue to keep us coming back for more. In that sense, this long-form series that’s garnered 100 million viewing hours and is still going strong, is a benchmark of sorts from Jio Hotstar Tamil.

26. Finally, something to look forward to in 2026: Mani Ratnam could soon begin shooting his next love story, starring Vijay Sethupathy and Sai Pallavi. Now that is something that audience members of all ages will wait to see.