Por Thozhil to Chittha: TNM’s pick of best Tamil movies from 2023 (2024)

Featuring big star vehicles with explosions, gun fights, and ‘mass’ entry songs, as well as smaller films that won the hearts of critics and audiences alike, the year 2023 was a mixed bag for Kollywood. Even as bigger stars such as Rajinikanth, Vijay, and Ajith stuck to safer and formulaic films, relatively smaller stars like Siddharth produced and starred in films like Chittha, which ventured into unfamiliar territory for Tamil cinema. As the year comes to a close, here are some of TNM’s favourite films from 2023.

Viduthalai Part 1: Although criticised by some for its depictions of brute violence against marginalised communities, this Vetrimaaran film earned critical and commercial success. The film revolves around Kumaresan (Soori), a newly recruited constable in the operation to hunt down Vaathiyar Perumal (Vijay Sethupathi), the leader of an extremist group. Through Kumaresan, the audience see the police brutality meted out to people in the hilltop villages, especially women, under the suspicion of harbouring Perumal and his aides. Soori, who has mostly acted in comedic roles, was praised for the portrayal of a constable caught between his inferior rank and trying to do good in defiance of his superiors.

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Farhana: This movie follows the life of Farhana (Aishwarya Rajesh), a working class married woman from a conservative family who works in a ‘friendship’ chat centre. Soon, she is at the receiving end of lewd and sexually inappropriate messages at her workplace and is on the verge of quitting, but strikes up a friendship with a male caller. What follows are tumultuous events that wreak havoc in Farhana’s life. This Nelson Venkatesan film was critically acclaimed for shedding light into the lives of working class women, their desires, and ambitions.

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Good Night: Vinayak Chandrashekar’s debut film follows the life of a young couple, Mohan (Manikandan) and Anu (Meetha Ragunath), and their struggles triggered by Mohan’s snoring problem. A comical romantic drama, Good Night features an array of characters who add to the trivial entanglements that make the film entertaining. The film is a moving journey of a young couple who find their way back to each other despite the strain caused by trivial obstacles beyond their control.

Por Thozhil: Por Thozhil is a taut thriller revolving around the hunt for a serial killer, starring Ashok Selvan, Sarath Kumar, Nizhalgal Ravi, and Sarath Babu, among others. Vignesh Raja’s directorial debut follows the story of Prakash (Ashok Selvan), a DSP trainee whom SP Loganathan (Sarath Kumar) reluctantly takes under his wing. Soon, Prakash, Loganathan, and Veena (Nikhila Vimal), a technical assistant, embark on an investigation to nab a serial killer who targets women. In the course of the investigation, the trio unravel various aspects of the case. As the case gets murkier, it takes them across the country in pursuit of the killer. The film received praise for being subtle while still managing to keep the audience on the edge of their seats.

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Maaveeran: Madonne Ashwin’s Maaveeran was a commercial hit and critically acclaimed for shedding light on the plight of slum dwellers and the poor quality of rehousing projects. The film follows Sathya (Sivakarthikeyan), the artist behind a popular comic strip named ‘Maaveeran’, a man of great courage and valour. Ironically, in real life, Sathya is a non-confrontational man who would rather avoid conflict, as he is scared to question authority. After an ugly spat with his mother over his cowardice, Sathya attempts suicide and fails. But he then begins hearing the voices resembling the main character from his comic strip – Maaveeran. What follows are hilarious and thought provoking sequences featuring a reluctant superhero who is forced to question incompetent authorities.

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Chittha: This SU Arunkumar film follows a heartwarming relationship between Eswaran (Siddharth) and his niece Sundari (Sahasra Shree), which quickly turns awry after Sundari is abducted. The movie was critically acclaimed for the way it dealt with sensitive subjects such as child sexual assault, the association of ‘honour’ with women’s bodies, and the rehabilitation of sexual assault survivors. The performances of Siddharth, Sahasra Shree, and Nimisha Sajayan in Chittha were stirring and added to the richness of the film.

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Parking: This Ramkumar Balakrishnan film is everything an understated thriller should be. What starts off as a disagreement between two neighbours, Eshwar (Harish Kalyan) and Ilamparuthi (MS Bhaskar), over a parking space, quickly escalates into a heated conflict with unexpected twists. One would assume a conflict over a parking space could hardly be the setting for a thriller, but that is precisely what makes the movie all the more enjoyable.

Por Thozhil to Chittha: TNM’s pick of best Tamil movies from 2023 (2024)

FAQs

Which Tamil movie is the highest rating in 2023? ›

Top 20 Tamil Movies of 2023: Jailer, Leo, Viduthalai: Part 1 and...
  • Best Tamil Movies 2023 on OTT.
  • Viduthalai: Part 1.
  • Ponniyin Selvan: Part Two.
  • Dada.
  • Ayothi.
  • Jailer.
  • Leo.
  • Jigarthanda DoubleX.

Which Tamil movie award is best in 2023? ›

While R Madhavan's 'Rocketry: The Nambi Effect' won the National Award for the Best Feature Film category, Director M Manikandan's 'Kadaisi Vivasayi (The Last Farmer)' won the honours for the Best Tamil Film.

What is the No. 1 Tamil movie? ›

Tamil Nadu
RankTitleYear
1Leo2023
2Ponniyin Selvan: I2022
3Jailer2023
4Vikram2022
11 more rows

Who is the best actor in Tamil movies 2023? ›

Kamal Haasan and Trisha were honored with key awards at SIIMA 2023 for their performances in Tamil films. Haasan won Best Actor for 'Vikram' while Trisha was awarded Best Actress for 'Ponniyin Selvan'. Trisha's portrayal of princess Kundavai was praised as a strong comeback to Tamil cinema.

What are the top 3 movies in 2023? ›

2023 Worldwide Box Office
RankRelease GroupWorldwide
1Barbie$1,445,638,421
2The Super Mario Bros. Movie$1,361,992,475
3Oppenheimer$975,280,393
4Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3$845,555,777
65 more rows

Which is the box office king in Tamil Nadu 2023? ›

'Leo' box office collection: Vijay starrer surpassed Rajinikanth's 'Jailer', becomes the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2023.

Which movie won the pongal in tamilnadu in 2023? ›

Vijay's 'Varisu' and Ajith's 'Thunivu' were released on the same day, and fans well celebrated their respective stars' films. Both films looked strong in their genres and received identical ratings. But Vijay's film grossed well higher than Ajith's film, and it made the former emerge as the winner of the 2023 Pongal.

Which film won winners 2023? ›

  • Avatar: The Way of Water. Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett.
  • All Quiet on the Western Front. Frank Petzold, Viktor Müller, Markus Frank and Kamil Jafar.
  • The Batman. Dan Lemmon, Russell Earl, Anders Langlands and Dominic Tuohy.
  • Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. ...
  • Top Gun: Maverick.
Mar 12, 2023

Who is the No 1 Tamil actor? ›

Rajinikanth has been a superstar in the Tamil movie industry since the 70s. He is one of the highest earning actors in Asia.

Which is the Floppest movie in Tamil? ›

120 WORST TAMIL MOVIES
  1. Valli. 1993. 3.9 (237) Rate. ...
  2. Kuselan. 20082h 45m. 4.9 (1.2K) Rate. ...
  3. Sivappu Sooriyan. 19832h 19mNot Rated. 5.0 (53) Rate. ...
  4. Shankar Saleem Simon. 19781h 52m. 5.0 (21) Rate. ...
  5. Thanikkattu Raja. 19822h 33m. 5.2 (108) Rate. ...
  6. Ellam Un Kairasi. 19802h 11m. 5.1 (36) Rate. ...
  7. Sura. 20102h 39mNot Rated. ...
  8. Sukran. 20052h 45mNot Rated.

Who is the king of Tamil film industry? ›

Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 170 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, and Malayalam.

Who is best, Vijay or Ajith? ›

- IMDb. Thalapathy Vijay Vs Ajith Kumar At Worldwide Box Office: Leo Star Leads Over Thala With 90% Higher Average Of His Last 5 Films! Thalapathy Vijay is arguably the biggest superstar of Kollywood, and time and again, he has proved his hold in India as well as overseas.

Who is best, Vijay or Suriya? ›

The study showed that on the “most trusted” scale, Suriya ranked the highest. Allu Arjun and Vijay Deverakonda led in Tollywood, Vijay and Sivakarthikeyan in Kollywood, and Fahadh Faasil and Kiccha Sudeepa ranked highest in Mollywood and Sandalwood respectively.

Which Tamil movie is high rating in 2023? ›

Box office collection
RankTitleProduction company
1JailerSun Pictures
2LeoSeven Screen Studio
3Ponniyin Selvan: IIMadras Talkies Lyca Productions
4VarisuSri Venkateswara Creations PVP Cinema
6 more rows

Which is the No 1 trending movie in 2023? ›

Domestic Box Office For 2023
RankReleaseRelease Date
1BarbieJul 21
2The Super Mario Bros. MovieApr 5
3Spider-Man: Across the Spider-VerseJun 2
4Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3May 5
39 more rows

Which Tamil movie is top 1 in 2023 IMDb? ›

Best Tamil Movies 2023
  • Farhana. 20232h 20m. ...
  • Por Thozhil. 20232h 27m. 8.0 (10K) Rate. ...
  • Aneethi. 20232h 23m. 6.6 (1.2K) Rate. ...
  • Tamilkkudimagan. 20232h 3m. 6.6 (468) Rate. ...
  • Irugapatru. 20232h 33m. 8.1 (3.1K) Rate. ...
  • Shot Boot Three. 20231h 57m. 6.0 (1.5K) Rate. ...
  • Chithha. 20232h 20m. 8.2 (7.5K) Rate. ...
  • Jigarthanda Double X. 20232h 52m. 8.0 (9.7K) Rate.

Which is the highest grossing South Indian movie in 2023? ›

Top 20 Highest Grossing South Indian Movies of 2023 (WW)
  • Leo : 606 Cr (T)
  • Jailer : 604 Cr (T)
  • Salaar : 600 Cr* (Tu)
  • PS-2 : 346 Cr (T)
  • Varisu : 300 Cr (T)
  • Waltair Veerayya : 220 Cr (Tu)
  • Thunivu : 200 Cr (T)
  • 2018 : 180 Cr (M)
Jan 10, 2024

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