7 Best South Indian Superhero Movies: Sivakarthikeyan’s Maaveeran to Minnal Murali (2024)

Liked Prasanth Varma's HanuMan? Here are the 7 most impressive superhero films from the South Indian Film Industry that are a must-watch.

Sivakarthikeyan’s Maaveeran to Tovino’s Minnal Murali; list of superhero films (PC: IMDb)

What is the first thing that comes to mind, when you think of superheroes? It is most probably the iconic Marvel and DC movies that have entertained us for decades now or maybe the first thing that comes to mind is Shaktimaan or Anil Kapoor in Mr.India.

Hollywood has been churning out superhero films since the dawn of time, as early as the 1920s and more recently Bollywood has shown some promise as well. But what about South Indian Cinema? Where does it stand in this conversation?

HanuMan is currently owning the box office with its unique blend of superhero and devotion. So let us take a look at some of the previous South Indian films that made an impact in the superhero genre. These films have been arranged in descending order of their release.

7 South-Indian Superhero Films That Offer A Unique Experience:

1. Maaveeran (2023)

• Writer-Director: Madonne Ashwin
• Runtime: 2 hours 46 minutes
• IMDb Rating:7.4
• Cast: Siva Karthikeyan, Aditi Shankar, Yogi Babu, Mysskin, Sunil
• Genre: Action/Thriller
• Where To Watch: Amazon Prime Video

A highly entertaining Tamil film with a unique take on the superhero genre. It is a commercial entertainer that is masked with great ideas and inventive storytelling. When a weak-kneed cartoonist is met with an accident, he begins to hear strange voices in his head, supposedly coming from above. These voices guide him to stand up for himself and face the evil head-on.

2. Veeran (2023)

• Writer-Director: Ark Saravan
• Runtime: 2 hours 37 minutes
• IMDb Rating: 6/10
• Cast: Hiphop Tamizha, Athira Raj, Vinay Rai, Munishkanth
• Genre: Action/Thriller
• Where To Watch: Amazon Prime Video

Veeran follows the story of Veeranor, a 15-year-old boy, who is struck by lightning near the temple in his village. When he wakes up from his coma, he realizes that he has superpowers of lightning and mind control. He has to use those special powers to fight off the villain who is planning on destroying his village. Although Veeran feels familiar due to Minnal Murali’s earlier release, the use of regional elements makes Veeran an interesting watch.

3. Minnal Murali (2021)

• Runtime: 2 hours 39 minutes
• IMDb Rating:7.8/10
• Cast: Tovino Thomas, Guru Somasundaram, Shelly Kishore, Femina George
• Genre: Adventure/Action
• Where To Watch: Netflix

One of the first superhero movies from the Malayalam industry, and also perhaps the first in South Indian cinema to leave a deep impact. The film follows the story of Jaison, who develops superpower abilities after being struck by lightning. He must use his special powers to defeat his adversary and save his village from ruins. Unlike Veeran, Minnal Murali has a villain with a powerful backstory and a hero with a strong cause. This is what makes Minnal Murali one of the best superhero films in Indian cinema.

4. Hero (2019)

• Writer-Director: PS Mithran
• Runtime: 2 hours 44 minutes
• IMDb Rating: 6.3/10
• Cast: Siva Karthikeyan, Ivana, Arjun Sarja, Abhay Deol
• Genre: Action/Thriller
• Where To Watch: Amazon Prime Video/Aha

Hero is a superhero film in its own right, but it is more of a vigilante tale with an obvious inspiration from director Shankar’s previous movies. Siva Karthikeyan, who plays Sakthi, turns vigilante to defeat the evil businessman running an education mafia in the city of Chennai. It is a decent actioner, with good bits of drama.

5. Mugamoodi (2012)

• Writer-Director: Mysskin
• Runtime: 2 hours 30 minutes
• IMDb Rating: 5.1/10
• Cast: Jiiva, Narain, Pooja Hegde, Nassar
• Genre: Action/Thriller
• Where To Watch: Sun NXT

Much like Siva Karthikeyan’s Hero, Mugamoodi too is set in the suburbs of Chennai. It covers the story of Anand, who is a huge fan of the legendary martial artist Bruce Lee. He uses his martial arts skills to woo the love of his life, Shakti but things go astray when he is falsely accused of murdering Shakti’s father. This forces Anand to put on a mask and hunt down the people behind the atrocities across Chennai.

6. Velayudham (2011)

• Writer-Director: Mohan Raja
• Runtime: 2 hours 40 minutes
• IMDb Rating: 6.1/10
• Cast: Thalapathy Vijay, Hansika, Genelia, Santhanam
• Genre: Action/Thriller
• Where To Watch: MX Player/Jio Cinema

Another tale of vigilantism, Velayudham manages to create a decent blend of commercial elements and thrilling episodes. It follows the story of an ordinary milk vendor, who unknowingly involves himself in a terrorist plot. When he meets an honest journalist, played by Genelia, he decides to put the hood on and take on the bad guys. A lesser-known fact about Velayudham is that it is the remake of Nagarjuna’s hit 2000 film, Azad.

7. Kanthaswamy (2009)

• Writer-Director: Susi Ganesan
• Runtime: 3 hours 10 minutes
• IMDb Rating: 5.1/10
• Cast: Chiyaan Vikram, Sriya Saran, Ashish Vidyarthi
• Genre: Action/Thriller
• Where To Watch: Disney+Hotstar/ MX Player/ Zee5

The late 2000s and the early 2010s clearly seem to show the trends in Tamil cinema at that time. This period saw the most number of vigilante-themed films, and Kanthaswamy is no different. A masked man takes on the evil in a fight against corruption. The film has interesting moments and the suit is spot on. If only the plot was laser-focused, it would have made for a great watch.

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