Top Critic Rated Tamil Movies of 2021 | nowrunning (2025)

Maanaadu is a heady, high-concept action thriller. Writer-director Venkat Prabhu gets the concept of time loop down to a science. So, even if you have no idea about how time loop works, the movie will make you think and entertain you a lot. Read Review

Wacky and inventive, Arun Prabu Purushothaman's Vaazhl is about characters who choose to live in a certain way while accepting the consequences that accompany their choices. It is a road movie that metaphorizes life as a long journey where characters and experiences have life-altering effects. Not all of it works, but the portions that do work like magic. Read Review

Karnan is a powerful action drama about the collective uprising of an oppressed community against the upper class. Karnan is littered with Theni Eswar's striking imagery, plus Mari Selvaraj's provocative war cry moments. In Dhanush, it also has just the kind of actor who could pull off a mass titular character with artful touches. Read Review

Most boxing movies are generic, but Pa. Ranjith's Sarpatta Parambarai seldom seems like one. It is as much a film about cast and rivalries between boxing clans in old Madras as it is about the game of boxing. Read Review

The best thing about the Tamil adaptation of Martin Prakkat's Charlie is that it makes us want to revisit the Malayalam film, like all good remakes do. It may be familiar material for the viewers of the original, but is different in its own regards. Read Review

Mandela has an interesting premise that talks about vote-bank politics and vote canvassing all while staying within the limits of a lighthearted, satirical entertainer. The movie is a tad repetitive, but it is held together beautifully by strong performances, starting with Yogi Babu as the titular character. Read Review