20+ South Indian Romantic Movies That’ll Tug At Your Heartstrings!

South Indian cinema has been giving Bollywood a run for its money with a string of back-to-back hits. From Pushpa to Sita Ramam, South Indian movies have been breaking records, thanks to the gripping storyline and impeccable direction and screenplay. In fact, a lot of Bollywood films that we see these days are either a remake or have been inspired by some of the best south Indian movies.

20+ Best South Indian Movies That’ll Steal Your Hearts!
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While we’ve all witnessed the magic of K.G.F and Baahubali, it’s time to give a try to South Indian romantic movies too! They are full of drama, emotions and love and we bet you’ll have your hearts full. Here is a list of 25 South Indian romantic movies that you must watch.

20+ Best South Indian Movies That’ll Steal Your Hearts!

Hopeless romantic or madly in love, our list of South Indian romantic movies will leave you gushing!

Sita Ramam

Sita Ramam starring Dulquer Salmaan and Mrunal Thakur, won praises and hearts of people pan India. The beautiful storyline and the gripping climax will leave your hearts full. The story is about an orphaned soldier who receives a life changing letter from Sita. He then goes on a mission to find her and when he does, love blossoms between the two. However, upon returning to his base, he sends a letter to Sita that does not reach her.

IMDb Rating: 8.6/10
Directed By: Hanu Raghavapudi
Written By: Hanu Raghavapudi, Raj Kumar Kandamudi
Cast: Dulquer Salmaan, Mrunal Thakur

96

Every incomplete love story does deserve a happy ending and 96 is proof of that. Starring Vijay Sehtupati and Trisha as the main leads, the plot of the movie revolves around K Ramachandran and Janki, who reunite after 22 years. The two were high-school sweethearts who broke up and decided to part ways. Later, they meet at their school reunion and nostalgia hits. Their story is heart-breaking and one that will live in your minds forever.

IMDb Rating: 8.5/10
Directed By: C. Premkumar
Written By: C. Premkumar
Cast: Vijay Setupathi, Trisha Krishnan

Premam

We’ve all lost faith in love at some point in our lives. But if you are still not able to find that purpose again, then we recommend watching Premam. This romantic South Indian movie is already a hit for its fresh approach. A young guy named George is left heartbroken by his first love, after which he loses faith in everything. Later on, Malar, a college professor, enters his life and sparks fly. Malar’s presence helps George find the long lost purpose of his life again. Trust us, this movie won’t disappoint you!

IMDb Rating: 8.3/10
Directed By: Alphonse Puthren
Written By: Alphonse Puthren
Cast: Nivin Pauly, Sai Pallavi, Madonna Sebastian

Geetha Govindam

If you are a Vija Devakonda fan, then Geetha Govindam should be on your watchlist. The movie is about Vijay Govind, who is a lecturer, and Geetha, who is a smart and level-headed girl. Vijay first notices Geetha at a temple and falls in love with her instantly. However, when the time comes, Vijay destroys his only chance of expressing his feelings for her, by doing something really stupid. So, will they be able to reconcile? The casting is spot-on and the chemistry between the two will make you root for them, for real!

IMDb Rating: 7.7/10
Directed By: Parasuram
Written By: Parasuram
Cast: Vijay Deverakonda, Rashmika Mandanna, Subbaraju, Naga Babu

Ninnila Ninnila

Ninnila Ninnila is not your conventional romantic South Indian movie. Dev, who is a top-level chef in London, suffers from muscle spasms very often. While working at the restaurant, he meets Tara and later they develop feelings for each other. However, another woman named Maya enters their lives and Tara discovers a dark secret from Dev’s past. The plot then takes an unexpected turn and compels you to keep on watching.

IMDb Rating: 7.5/10
Directed By: Ani. I.V. Sasi
Written By: Ani. I.V. Sasi
Cast: Ashok Selvan, Nithya Menen, Ritu Varma, M. Nassar

Ninnu Kori

Ninnu Kori is a romantic-comedy drama about two lovers, Pallavi and Uma, who are madly in love with each other. However, one day Pallavi decides to elope with Uma, but the latter declines the proposal. Heartbroken, Pallavi marries Arun and settles down in the US. Later when Uma realises that he’s still in love with Pallavi, he tries to do everything he can to separate the two. Watch the movie and decide who’s team are you on, Team Arun or Team Uma.

IMDb Rating: 7.6/10
Directed By: Shiva Nirvana
Written By: Shiva Nirvana,
Cast: Nani, Nivetha Thomas, Aadhi Pinisetty

Fidaa

Fidaa is one of the most beautiful south Indian romantic films that will leave you wanting for more. The story is about Varun falling in love with Bhanumathi, who he meets at his brother’s wedding. As the story progresses, Bhanu also starts falling for Varun because of his charming nature. Later their relationship hits a rough patch but after lots of twists and turns, they make it work. Their sweet story will totally make you believe in love again. So, go and watch the magic happen!

IMDb Rating: 7.4/10
Directed By: Sekhar Kammula
Written By: Charu Gupta, Sekhar Kammula, Chaithanya Pingali
Cast: Sai Pallavi, Varun Tej, Sarah Uriarte Berry, Harshvardhan Rane

OK Kanmani

You must have heard about Bollywood movie OK Janu, but did you know that it was a remake of a Tamil movie Ok Kanmani? The movie revolves around two youngsters Adi and Tara who meet at a wedding and fall in love instantly. Since they both don’t believe in the institution of marriage, they decide to live together. What follows next is definitely entertaining. The movie is directed by the genius Mani Ratnam.

IMDb Rating: 7.4/10
Directed By: Mani Ratnam
Written By: Mani Ratnam
Cast: Dulquer Salmaan, Nithya Menen

Dear Comrade

Another gem by the duo Rashmika Mandanna and Vijay Devarakonda, Dear Comrade is a beautiful story about two people who are poles apart yet fall in love with each other. Bobby, who is a hot-headed person, falls in love with Lilly, a state-level cricketer. While things were going well for the two, Bobby’s anger issues became unbearable for Lilly. Hence they decide to part ways. But will they or will they not try to make it work… watch to find out.

IMDb Rating: 7.3/10
Directed By: Bharat Kamma
Written By: Bharat Kamma, Gautam Siddharth
Cast: Vijay Devarakonda, Rashmika Mandanna, and Shruti Ramachandran, Raj Arjun, Suhas

Tholi Prema

Tholi Prema, meaning ‘first love’, will make you laugh and cry for all the right reasons. Aditya, a young outgoing man who likes to enjoy his life to the fullest, falls in love with an introvert Varsha. After a while they get into a relationship, but decide to go their separate ways due to a misunderstanding. The duo reconcile after 6 years giving us reasons to believe in love again. The story is definitely gripping and hence one of the best romantic movies that you can watch.

IMDb Rating: 7.2/10
Directed By: Venky Atluri
Written By: Venky Atluri
Cast: Varun Teja, Raashi Khanna, Naresh, Suhasini Maniratnam

Majili

Majili is a heart touching love story revolving around an alcoholic failed cricketer, who is left heartbroken by his childhood love. Poorna and Anshu fall in love, but due to pressure from Anshu’s parents, they part ways. Poorna then turns to alcohol and marries his neighbor Shravani, to despise Anshu. But he is still unable to move on and waits for her every single day. After some miserable years as a married couple, Poorna and Shravani make it work and we are left with tears of joy.

IMDb Rating: 7.2/10
Directed By: Shiva Nirvana
Written By: Shiva Nirvana
Cast: Naga Chaitanya Akkineni, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Divyansha Kaushik, Atul Kulkarni

Dumdaar Khiladi

Dumdaar Khiladi is a rom-com that’ll leave you smiling ear-to-ear. Sanju is a young man, sent to Hyderabad by his father to work in IT sector. There, he lives with a family but falls in love with Anu, the landlord’s daughter. He establishes a good bond with her father but is unable to tell him out of respect. The movie is full of sweet little moments with a touch of comedy.

IMDb Rating: 7.1/10
Directed By: Trinadha Rao Nakkina
Written By: Prasanna Kumar Bezawada,
Cast: Ram Pothineni, Anupama Parameswaran

The Super Khiladi 3 (Nenu Sailaja)

One of the best romantic South Indian movies, Nenu Sailaja will restore your faith in love again. Hari is a young guy who searches for love in all the wrong places. One day he happens to cross paths with Shailu and they both fall in love with each other. As the story progresses, Hari realizes that Shailu is none other than his childhood crush. Isn’t that cute? The ending will totally leave you with a big smile.

IMDb Rating: 7.0/10
Directed By: Kishore Tirumala
Written By: Kishore Tirumala
Cast: Ram Pothineni, Keerthy Suresh, Pradeep Rawat

RX 100

RX 100 is filled with love, lust, and lots of twists. Shiva is a well-behaved gentleman who falls in love with Indu, a local politician’s daughter. They both get serious for each other and later decide to get intimate. After a while Indu reveals to Shiva that her father wants her to marry someone else, hence they should stop seeing each other. This is where things get interesting and you are left with a very heart-breaking ending.

IMDb Rating: 6.9/10
Directed By: Ajay Bhupathi
Written By: Ajay Bhupathi, Tajuddin Syed
Cast: Kartikeya Gummakonda, Payal Rajput, Ramki, Rao Ramesh

A Aa

South industry never fails to give us unconventional love stories and this one is no different. Anana and Anasuya are cousins who fall in love with each other. Anasyu’s mother is a rich business woman whereas Anana is from a very poor family. However, it’s not their background difference but a dark secret that hinders their plan of marrying each other. But will they finally be able to convince their parents and move past the secret? Watch to find out.

IMDb Rating: 6.9/10
Directed By: Trivikram Srinivas
Written By: Trivikram Srinivas, Sulochana Rani
Cast: Nithiin, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Anupama Parameswaran

Orange

There are many out there who are skeptical about love. If you are one of those, then you should definitely give this movie a watch. Ram is a graffiti artist in Australia who breaks up with his girlfriend because he does not believe in the word ‘forever’. Eventually, he meets a beautiful girl and realizes that she’s the one for him. But is she really?

IMDb Rating: 6.6/10
Directed By: Bhaskar
Written By: Bhaskar
Cast: Ram Charan and Genelia D’Souza

Uppena

Uppena is about a couple from different classes of society, who fight all odds to stay together. The plot revolves around Aasi who is a fisherman, falling in love with the village head’s daughter, Bebamma. However, her father who is a zamindar, is against their relationship and violently protests their love to safekeep his family’s reputation. After all the hardships, it is interesting to watch how the love birds convince their parents and marry each other at the end.

IMDb Rating: 6.5/10
Directed By: Buchi Babu Sana
Written By: Buchi Babu Sana, Krushna Hari, Jayanth Panuganti
Cast: Panja Vaisshnav Tej, Krithi Shetty, Vijay Sethupathi

Super Khiladi 4

Super Khiladi 4 is a classic and show’s what a man can do to win the love of his life, by hook or by crook. The story follows a young boy named Babu who falls in love with Keerthi. But unfortunately her father finds him to be rude and despises his attitude. When he tries to impress him, Babu finds out that another guy has already impressed Keerthi’s father. Super Khiladi 4 is a fun watch and will entertain you with the compelling storyline.

IMDb Rating: 6.5/10
Directed By: Trinadha Rao Nakkina
Written By: Trinadha Rao Nakkina
Cast: Keerthy Suresh, Naveen Chandra, Posani Krishna Murali

Chalo

What happens when you are not trying to help someone but unintentionally do and it backfires? Well, the plot of this movie is exactly that. Hari is an angry young man, who gets into fights every now and then. Later, his father sends him to his ancestral village where unintentionally he helps a bunch of people just by fighting’. Amidst all this, he falls in love with Karthika and that’s where it gets interesting.

IMDb Rating: 6.2/10
Directed By: Venky Kudumula
Written By: Venky Kudumula
Cast: Naga Shaurya, Rashmika Mandanna

Most Eligible Bachelor

We do enjoy a good rom-com and if you do too, then you definitely need to watch Most Eligible Bachelor. The story revolves around a NRI Harsha, whose mother tries to set him up to meet 20 potential matches for marriage. However, he falls for Vibha, a stand-up comedian and a very outspoken girl. During the course of the movie you’ll get to see how Vibha challenges Harsha’s perspective towards marriage and test his love for her.

IMDb Rating: 6.1/10
Directed By: Bommarillu Bhaskar
Written By: Bommarillu Bhaskar
Cast: Akhil Akkineni, Pooja Hegde

Chal Mohan Ranga

If you are a true rom-com fan, then Chal Mohan Ranga should definitely be on your watchlist. The movie is about Mohan Ranga, who falls in love with Megha Subramanyam, a NRI who resides in the US. By the time Megha is ready to confess her love for him, an unexpected tragedy leads them on a different path. But after all the hardship they find their way back to each other. If this does not sound true love then I don’t know what does.

IMDB Rating: 5.8/10
Directed By: Krishna Chaitanya
Written By: Krishna Chaitanya, Trivikram Srinivas
Cast: Subramanyam Nithiin, Megha Akash, Rohini Hattangadi

Lie

A love story full of twists and turns? Yes, please! Sathyam is the unemployed son of a widowed mother, who is good for nothing. He later meets Chaitra on a trip and they decide to lie to each other till the time they are together. But, eventually they fall in love. Interestingly, Sathyam is later hired by NIA to catch a most wanted criminal. But there’s more to this story and a twist that you wouldn’t expect. So watch it ASAP and find out.

IMDb Rating: 5.8/10
Directed By: Hanu Raghavapudi
Written By: Hanu Raghavapudi
Cast: Nithiin, Arjun sarja, Megha Akash, Ravi Kishan. Sriram

Krishnarjuna Yuddham

A unique love story starring actor Nani in a dual role. Arjun and Krishna are lookalikes from two different parts of the world. Unaware of the other’s existence, they bump into each other while trying to convince the love of their lives to marry them. And then begins a rollercoaster ride!

IMDb Rating: 5.7/10
Directed By: Ajay Bhupathi
Written By: Ajay Bhupathi, Tajuddin Syed
Cast: Nani, Anupama Parameswaran, Rukshar Dhillon

Lover (Rebel Khiladi)

Romantic movies are totally incomplete without a little action and this movie is just that. Charitha, who is an honest doctor, saves a girl from being kidnapped. Raj falls in love with Charithra, who later tries to save her from those goons who happened to be the same kidnappers. The beautiful chemistry between the two actors can be witnessed throughout the movie and therefore makes it one of the best Valentine’s Day movies ever.

IMDb Rating: 5.5/10
Directed By: Annish Krishna
Written By: Anish R. Krishna, Swapawan Basamsetti. BKarthikhargava
Cast: Raj Tarun, Riddhi Kumar,

World Famous Lover

World Famous Lover follows the story of Gautham, an aspiring writer. He is in a live-in relationship with the love of his life Yamini. Later, Yamini gets fed up with his carefree and careless attitude and hence decides to leave him for good. Gautham then ends up in jail and tells his cellmate that he has written four stories inspired by her. He realizes his mistakes and sacrifices made by her for him. Now, is it too late for him to make it work?

IMDb Rating: 5/10
Directed By: Kranthi Madhav
Written By: Kranthi Madhav
Cast: Vijay Devakonda, Aishwarya Rajesh, Izabelle Leite

So fam, which of these South Indian romantic movies are you going to watch first?!