The South Indian film industry has been enjoying the golden era of Indian cinema for the past few years, as we have witnessed some of the biggest blockbusters of all time that brought revolution to the industry and proved its potential not only in India but also worldwide.
Behind the success of South cinema, including Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam, is their makers’ content-driven approach and less focus on glamour, item songs, etc., like we mostly see in Bollywood movies nowadays.
Perhaps this is why, even in the Hindi belt, people have begun to prefer South films over Bollywood films. Films such as Baahubali, KGF 1 and 2, RRR, and Pushpa: The Rise demonstrated Hindi audiences’ growing interest in South Indian films.
Like the previous year, 2023 is also going to be more exciting for Indian moviegoers, as many big-budget and highly anticipated movies are in the queue to entertain you on screen.
So we’ve compiled a list of the best South Indian movies of 2023 that have already generated a lot of buzz and are set to entertain you this year like Best South Indian Movies of Year 2022.
1- Salaar
Release Date: September 28, 2023
Director: Prasanth Neel
Star Cast: Prabhas, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Shruti Haasan, Jagapathi Babu
Produced by Vijay Kiragandur under his banner, Hombale Films, this Telugu action thriller film was announced in 2020, and its shooting started in January 2021 near Godavarikhani, Telangana.
It is one of the most anticipated project of Telugu superstar Prabhas, who is currently gearing up for his upcoming bilingual Hindi-Telugu film Adipurush. It is the first collaboration between Prabhas and KGF director Prashanth Neel.
2- Vaathi
Release Date: February 17, 2023
Director: Venky Atluri
Star Cast: Dhanush, Samyuktha Menon
The bilingual period coming-of-age action drama film is shot in Tamil and Telugu, with the latter titled “Sir.” It is produced by Sithara Entertainments in association with Fortune Four Cinemas.
The film’s story revolves around Dhanush’s character, Balamurugan (Tamil)/ Bala Gangadhar Tilak (Telugu), who is a third-grade junior lecturer in an educational institute and fights for the students’ rights.
3- Pushpa: The Rule—Part 2
Release Date: August/September 2023
Director: Sukumar
Star Cast: Allu Arjun, Fahadh Faasil, Rashmika Mandanna, Mohanlal (Cameo)
Telugu superstar Allu Arjun’s blockbuster film Pushpa: The Rise—Part 01 is set to be back with its sequel, titled Pusha: The Rule—Part 2, in the middle of 2023. The first film received universal acclaim for its action sequences, cinematography, direction, soundtrack, and performances by the star cast.
The film was a big commercial success and became the highest-grossing Indian film of 2021, grossing around Rs. 373 crore at the box office.
4- L2: Empuraan
Release Date: TBA
Director: Prithviraj Sukumaran
Star Cast: Prithviraj Sukumaran, Mohanlal, Manju Warrier, Tovino Thomas
L2: Enpuraan is the sequel to the 2019 political action thriller Lucifer, which is the highest grossing Malayalam film so far. L2 is the second instalment in a trilogy and will be followed by an untitled sequel.
L2 will revolve around the before and after events shown in Lucifer. It is not the continuation of Lucifer but a standalone sequel. Murali Gopi is serving as a writer in the film.
5- Indian 2
Release Date: October 2023
Director: S. Shankar
Star Cast: Kamal Hassan, Nedumudi Venu, Kichcha Sudeep, Siddharth, Kajal Aggarwal, Rakul Preet Singh, Priya Bhavani Shankar
It is a standalone sequel to Kamal Hassan’s 1996 vigilante action film “Indian.” It is produced by Lyca Productions in association with Red Giant Movies. The film was announced in 2017, and its shooting started in January 2019 in Chennai.
The shooting had to be halted following an accident on the set in February 2020, which led to the deaths of a few crew members. Later, production was also suspended due to COVID-19, and finally it was resumed in August 2022.
6- Ponniyin Selvan: II
Release Date: April 28, 2023
Director: Mani Ratnam
Star Cast: Chiyaan Vikram, Jayam Ravi, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Karthi, Trisha
Acclaimed director Mani Ratnam’s dream project, Ponniyin Selvan: Part 01 was released on September 30, 2022, and it turned out to be the highest grossing Tamil film of 2023, grossing around Rs. 500 crore worldwide.
Ponniyin Selvan Part 1 and Part 2 are co-produced by Madras Talkies and Lyca Productions and are based on Kallki Krishnamurthy’s 1955 novel of the same name.The second part is all set for an April 2023 release.
7- Project K
Release Date: April 2024 (tentative)
Director: Nag Ashwin
Star Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Prabhas, Deepika Padukone, Disha Patani
Produced by C. Aswani Dutt’s Vyjayanthi Movies, Project K is the working title of Telugu superstar Prabhas starrer science fiction film. The film makers the Telugu debut of Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone.
Reportedly, the film is being made on a budget of Rs. 500 crore and is one of the most expensive films ever made. It is simultaneously shot in Telugu and Hindi languages.
8- NTR30
Release Date: 2023/2024
Director: Koratala Siva
Star Cast: N.T. Rama Rao Jr.
Tentatively titled NTR30, Telugu superstar NTR Junior’s untitled film is one of the most ambitious projects in the Telugu film industry. The film is creating a lot of hype on social media, and fans are really eager to watch the movie in theatres.
The film’s pre-production work has been completed, and it will begin shooting in the second or third week of January. It is the second collaboration between NTR Jr. and Koratala Siva after Janatha Garage.
9- Suriya42
Release Date: Summer 2023
Director: Siva
Star Cast: Suriya, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu
Suriya42, the Pan-Indian action adventure film, is the 42nd film of Suriya’s career. It is shot in 3D and will be released in 10 languages. It is said to be the first film to be released on a global scale.
The major portion of the film has already wrapped up, and it is said that the makers are planning to have a complete wrap-up of the film by March this year.
10- Jailer
Release Date: April 14, 2023
Director: Nelson
Star Cast: Rajinikanth, Shiva Rajkumar, Ramya Krishnan, Vasanth Ravi, Yogi Babu
The Tamil action comedy film is produced by Kalanithi Maran of Sun Pictures, and it marks the debut of Shiva Rajkumar in Tamil cinema. Earlier, the film was being made under the working title Thalaivar 169, as it is the 169th project of megastar Rajinikanth.
The official title of the film was revealed in June, whereas filming began in August. The film’s music is composed by Anirudh.
11- Chandramukhi 2
Release Date: TBA
Director: P. Vasu
Star Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Raghava Lawrence, Vadivelu
Chandramukhi 2 is the sequel to the 2005 Tamil horror film Chandramukhi, which was the remake of Vasu’s Kannada film Apthamitra, which itself was based on the 1993 Malayalam film Manichitrathazhu.
Chandramukhi featured Rajinikanth and Jyothika in the lead roles whereas second film features Raghava Lawrence and Kangana Ranaut. It is the second Tamil film of Ranaut after Thalaivii. The film’s post theatrical rights have been acquired by Netflix.
12- Thangalaan
Release Date: TBA
Director: Pa. Ranjith
Star Cast: Vikram, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Malavika Mohanan
The Vikram-starrer Pan-Indian film Thangalaan, which is produced by Studio Green, KE Gnanavel Raja, and Neelam Productions, is set to be released in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi.
Tentatively titled “Chiyaan 61,” it got its official title “Thangalaan” on the occasion of Diwali 2022. Set against the backdrop of the pre-independence era, the film is written by Tamil Praba, and its music is composed by GV Prakash.
13- RC15
Release Date: TBA
Director: S. Shankar
Star Cast: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, S.J. Suryah, Anjali, Jayaram
RC15 is the working title of the 15th film of Telugu superstar Ram Charan, and it is a much-hyped political thriller. It is the Telugu debut film of S. Shankar, from the story of Karthik Subbaraj.
The film is produced by Dil Raju and Sirish under Sri Venkateswara Creations, and it has music composed by S. Thaman in his third collaboration with Ram Charan after Naayak and Bruce Lee: The Fighter.
14- Shaakuntalam
Release Date: February 17, 2023
Director: Gunasekhar
Star Cast: Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Dev Mohan
The film is based on classical Sanskrit author Kalidasa’s popular play Abhigyanam Shakuntalam, featuring Samarth in the titular role and Dev Mohan as the king of the Puru Dynasty, Dushyanta.
The film was extensively shot around Hyderabad, including Ramoji Film City, Ananthagiri Hills, and Gandipet Lake, as well as some parts of Northern India, including Kashmir. It is produced by Sri Venkateswara Creations.
15- Agent
Release Date: 28 April 2023
Director: Surender Reddy
Star Cast: Mammootty, Akhil Akkineni
The spy action thriller film is written by Vakkantham Vamsi and produced by AK Entertainments in association with Surender 2 Cinema.
The Pan India film will be released in Telugu, along with dubbed versions in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, and Kannada. The music in the film has been composed by the Tamil musical duo Hiphop Tamizha.
