TamilO!

Three lists for seventy years of Tamil cinema

The TamilO! portal, as the Wayback Machine kept it, was a busy Joomla site with a blue frame, a white page and a long Movies menu. Under that menu sat three lists that any Tamil film fan could read at a glance: a Tamil New Movie List, a Tamil Mid Movie List and a Tamil Old Movie List. They divided Tamil cinema into the films of now, the films of the recent past and the classics.

This guide keeps the three lists and gives them clear borders. The Old Movie List runs to 1999, the Mid Movie List from 2000 to 2012, and the New Movie List from 2013 to the films of 2026. Each list is cut into eras: two for the Old list, three for the Mid list and five for the New list, ten eras in all. Every era holds its most voted Tamil films on TMDB, the community film database, so that 164 films from 1952 to 2026 cover seventy-four years of Tamil cinema, from Parasakthi with Sivaji Ganesan to Blast, Made in Korea and Vishwanath & Sons.

The board on the home page, Ten eras in three lists, shows the ten eras as blue-edged boxes, each labelled with its list. Every poster card names its era, so you always know where a film sits in the timeline, and the three lists also have pages of their own with every film of their eras, most voted first.

How the lists are filled

TamilO! starts from the Tamil-language films on TMDB that have an English synopsis, a poster and at least ten votes. It then places each film in its era by its year of release and keeps the sixteen most voted films of each era. The era before 1990 is the exception: only twenty films from those decades meet the conditions, and the guide keeps all twenty. That makes 164 films: 36 in the Old list, 48 in the Mid list and 80 in the New list.

Ranking by votes means each era shows the films that the most viewers have rated, which is a measure of how widely a film is still seen rather than a verdict on its quality. That is why the lists mix the obvious and the surprising. The 1990s are led by Bombay and Indian, the years 2010 to 2012 by Enthiran, and the years 2024 to 2026 by Maharaja and Amaran; but each era also holds smaller films that viewers rated highly, from Mouna Raagam to Kaaka Muttai and Meiyazhagan.

TamilO! in figures

The 164 films span 1952 to 2026. Two come from the 1950s, two from the 1960s, four from the 1970s and twelve from the 1980s; then sixteen from the 1990s, 32 from the 2000s, 54 from the 2010s and 42 from the 2020s. Together they hold 12,465 votes on TMDB. The average rating is 6.90, and 35 films are rated 7.5 or more with at least ten votes; they form the list Rated 7.5 or more.

The most voted film of the guide is Enthiran, Shankar's robot spectacle of 2010 with Rajinikanth, with 274 votes, just ahead of Maharaja with 273 and Amaran with 271. The best rated are Pariyerum Perumal and Meiyazhagan, both at 8.2, followed by Thalapathi at 8.0. The Old list has the highest average rating of the three, 7.06, against 6.86 for both the Mid and the New lists, even though its 36 films hold fewer votes, 1,234, than any single era of the New list.

The Old Movie List

The Old Movie List holds 36 films in two eras, before 1990 and the 1990s. It is the list of the great names of Tamil cinema: Sivaji Ganesan, who appears in six of its films, from Parasakthi in 1952 to Padayappa in 1999; Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth, who both appear here from 1977 on; and the directors Mani Ratnam, K. Balachander, Bharathiraja and S. P. Muthuraman.

Before 1990

The first era of the Old list holds every Tamil film before 1990 that meets the conditions of the guide, twenty in all, from 1952 to 1989. The three oldest are classics of Sivaji Ganesan. Parasakthi, from 1952, follows a man who leaves Burma during the Second World War to return home; Andha Naal, from 1954, is a murder mystery told from several points of view; and Karnan, from 1964, retells the story of the warrior-archer Karna from the Mahabharata. Thillana Mohanambal, from 1968, is the romance of a classical dancer and a nathaswaram player.

The late 1970s bring a new generation. 16 Vayathinile, Bharathiraja's village drama of 1977, puts Kamal Haasan, Sridevi and Rajinikanth in the same film, and Sigappu Rojakkal, from 1978, reunites Kamal Haasan and Sridevi in a thriller. Aarilirunthu Arubathu Varai, from 1979, rated 7.9, follows a man who sacrifices everything for his siblings, and Agraharathil Kazhutai, John Abraham's film of 1977, follows a donkey that strays into a Brahmin village.

The 1980s are the decade of Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan as stars. Rajinikanth leads Thillu Mullu, K. Balachander's comedy of 1981, the 1980 Billa, Johnny, Moondru Mugam and two films of 1988 by S. P. Muthuraman, Dharmathin Thalaivan and Guru Sishyan. Kamal Haasan leads Moondram Pirai, Apoorva Sagodharargal, the 1986 Vikram and Nayakan, Mani Ratnam's crime epic of 1987, the most voted film of the era with 100 votes and rated 7.9. Mani Ratnam's Mouna Raagam, from 1986, about a young woman pushed into an arranged marriage, is also rated 7.9, and his Agni Natchathiram of 1988 completes his three films of the decade.

The 1990s

The second era of the Old list is the second best rated era of the ten, with an average of 7.13, just behind 2000 to 2004, and thirteen of its sixteen films are rated 7.0 or more, more than in any other era. Mani Ratnam has four films here: Thalapathi, from 1991, with Rajinikanth and Mammootty, the best rated of the era at 8.0; Roja, from 1992, about a village girl searching for her kidnapped husband in Kashmir; Bombay, from 1995, the most voted film of the era with 90 votes, about a Hindu man and a Muslim woman who marry and move to Bombay; and Iruvar, from 1997, a fictional portrait of two men who shaped Tamil politics.

Rajinikanth appears in six films of the era: Thalapathi, Annamalai, Baasha, Muthu, Arunachalam and Padayappa, from 1999, in which he shares the screen with Sivaji Ganesan. Kamal Haasan leads four, and they show his range: the quadruple role of Michael Madana Kama Rajan in 1990, the village drama Thevar Magan in 1992, the freedom fighter of Indian in 1996 and the comedy Avvai Shanmugi, in which he disguises himself as an old woman to be near his daughter. Shankar's Mudhalvan and Jeans and the romance Hello complete the decade.

The Mid Movie List

The Mid Movie List holds 48 films from 2000 to 2012 in three eras. In these years Gautham Vasudev Menon, Bala, Selvaraghavan, Vetrimaaran and Karthik Subbaraj join Mani Ratnam and Shankar on the lists, and Vijay, Suriya, Vikram, Ajith Kumar and Dhanush lead many of the films. The Mid films are the longest of the three lists, 160 minutes on average.

2000 to 2004

The first era of the Mid list is the best rated of all ten eras, with an average of 7.14. Anbe Sivam, Sundar C's road film of 2003 with Kamal Haasan and R. Madhavan as two strangers thrown together on a long journey, leads with 93 votes and shares the best rating of the era, 7.7, with Kannathil Muthamittal, Mani Ratnam's film of 2002 about a little girl who sets out to find the mother who gave her up for adoption. Mani Ratnam has two more films here, the love story Alaipayuthey from 2000 and Aayitha Ezhuthu from 2004.

The era is also full of star films. Ghilli, from 2004, with Vijay as a kabaddi player who rescues a young woman from a village strongman, is the second most voted with 78. Kamal Haasan has four: Hey Ram, Panchatanthiram, Virumaandi and Vasool Raja MBBS, the comedy about a gangster who enrols in a medical college. Pithamagan, Bala's drama of 2003 with Vikram and Suriya, is rated 7.5; Kaakha Kaakha with Suriya and Jyothika, Kandukondain Kandukondain, Boys, Friends, Saamy and Kushi complete the sixteen.

2005 to 2009

The second era of the Mid list is the era of the blockbuster. Sivaji: The Boss, Shankar's film of 2007 with Rajinikanth as a wealthy engineer who returns to India to serve the nation, leads with 156 votes. Shankar's Anniyan, from 2005, follows with 128 and shares the best rating of the era, 7.4, with Pudhupettai, Selvaraghavan's gangster drama of 2006. A. R. Murugadoss's Ghajini, with 111 votes, and K. V. Anand's Ayan, with 84, are the other big action films.

The era has a softer side too. Vaaranam Aayiram, Gautham Vasudev Menon's film of 2008 with Suriya as both father and son, is rated 7.3, and Sillunu Oru Kaadhal, from 2006, is a love story about a husband's past. The horror film Yavarum Nalam and the horror comedy Chandramukhi sit beside the gangster films Pokkiri and the 2007 Billa, and Kamal Haasan's Dasavatharam, in which he plays ten roles, sits beside Unnaipol Oruvan, in which he plays a common man who takes on terrorism. Seven of its sixteen films are rated 7.0 or more, the same share as the next era.

2010 to 2012

The last era of the Mid list is led by the most voted film of the whole guide, Enthiran, with 274 votes: Shankar's science-fiction spectacle of 2010, in which Rajinikanth plays both a scientist and the robot he builds. Shankar also made Nanban, from 2012, a comedy about college friends with Vijay. A. R. Murugadoss's Thuppakki, with Vijay as an army intelligence officer, is the second most voted with 132, and Pizza, Karthik Subbaraj's horror thriller of 2012, the third with 90.

The best rated film of the era is Aadukalam, Vetrimaaran's drama of 2011 about rooster fighting in Madurai, at 7.7, ahead of Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa, Gautham Vasudev Menon's love story of 2010, at 7.4. The era also holds Singam, Mankatha, Ko, Raavanan, the fantasy adventure Aayirathil Oruvan and the romance 3, directed by Aishwarya Rajinikanth with Dhanush and Shruti Haasan.

The New Movie List

The New Movie List is the largest of the three, with 80 films in five eras from 2013 to 2026, and it holds almost two thirds of all the votes in the guide, 7,916 of 12,465. It is the list of the films most rated on TMDB: Vikram Vedha and Ratsasan, Kaithi and Jai Bhim, Vikram and Leo, Maharaja and Amaran. It is also the list where newer directors appear beside the familiar ones, from Pa. Ranjith and Mari Selvaraj to C. Prem Kumar and Pradeep Ranganathan.

2013 to 2015

The first era of the New list is led by Shankar's I, from 2015, with 145 votes, followed by A. R. Murugadoss's Kaththi, with Vijay in a double role as a criminal and his look-alike, and Kamal Haasan's Vishwaroopam. Its best rated film is a small one: Kaaka Muttai, M. Manikandan's film of 2015 about two boys from a slum who dream of tasting pizza, rated 7.8. Jigarthanda, Karthik Subbaraj's gangster comedy of 2014, is rated 7.6, and Velaiyilla Pattathari, with Dhanush as a long-unemployed graduate who finally lands his dream job, 7.5.

The era also has its romances. O Kadhal Kanmani, Mani Ratnam's film of 2015, follows a young couple who move in together but plan to separate, and Raja Rani, Atlee's film of 2013, a couple who dislike each other forced into marriage. Thani Oruvan, with Ravi Mohan, rated 7.4, and the crime comedy Soodhu Kavvum sit beside star films such as Jilla, Lingaa, Vedalam and Thalaivaa.

2016 to 2018

The second era of the New list is the most voted era of all ten, with 2,051 votes, and the best rated era of the New list, with an average of 7.03 and ten films rated 7.0 or more. Vikram Vedha, from 2017, leads with 247 votes, followed by Ratsasan with 212 and Shankar's 2.0, the sequel to Enthiran, with 194. Pariyerum Perumal, Mari Selvaraj's film of 2018, about a law student from a lower caste whose friendship with a classmate brings him trouble from her family, has the best rating of the era and of the whole guide, 8.2, shared with Meiyazhagan.

The era is rich in films that were both popular and well rated. 96, C. Prem Kumar's love story of 2018 with Vijay Sethupathi and Trisha Krishnan, about two former classmates who meet again at a school reunion, is rated 7.7 from 169 votes. Visaranai is rated 7.9, Vada Chennai, Dhuruvangal Pathinaaru and Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru 7.8. Atlee's Theri and Mersal, Pa. Ranjith's Kabali and Kaala, and A. R. Murugadoss's Sarkar and Spyder are the big star films of these years.

2019 to 2021

The third era of the New list is led by Jai Bhim, from 2021, with 262 votes: a lawyer takes up the case of a tribal woman whose husband disappears in police custody. Kaithi follows with 178 votes, and Super Deluxe and Soorarai Pottru share third place with 148 each. Soorarai Pottru, Sudha Kongara's film of 2020 with Suriya as a man who sets out to make air travel affordable for ordinary people, is rated 7.7, like Super Deluxe.

The era holds several films about caste, class and power. Asuran, Vetrimaaran's drama of 2019, follows a family on the run after the teenage son kills a rich upper-caste man, and is rated 7.6. Karnan, Mari Selvaraj's film of 2021 with Dhanush, follows a young man who fights for his oppressed village, and Sarpatta Parambarai, Pa. Ranjith's boxing drama of 2021, the best rated film of the era at 7.8, follows a young labourer who must decide whether to fight for his clan. Rajinikanth's Petta, Vijay's Master and Bigil, the time-loop thriller Maanaadu and the romantic con caper Kannum Kannum Kollaiyadithaal complete the era.

2022 and 2023

The fourth era covers just two years, 2022 and 2023, and is led by Lokesh Kanagaraj's Vikram, with 196 votes, followed by his Leo, with 156, and Nelson's Jailer, with Rajinikanth as a retired jailer, with 137. Mani Ratnam's two-part historical epic, Ponniyin Selvan: Part I and Ponniyin Selvan: Part II, about the Chola kingdom under threat, sits here too, the first rated 7.1 and the second 6.3.

The best rated films of the era are Viduthalai: Part I, at 7.9, and a group at 7.7: Rocketry: The Nambi Effect, R. Madhavan's film about the rocket scientist Nambi Narayanan, who was falsely accused of treason; Vikram; and Jigarthanda DoubleX, Karthik Subbaraj's sequel to Jigarthanda. The comedies are strong as well: Love Today, Pradeep Ranganathan's story of a couple made to swap phones for a day, Thiruchitrambalam with Dhanush, rated 7.4, and Naai Sekar Returns, with the comedian Vadivelu as a dog kidnapper.

2024 to 2026

The last era of the New list reaches the films of 2026. It is led by Maharaja, from 2024, with 273 votes, and Amaran, from 2024, with 271: the true story of Major Mukund Varadarajan, an Indian Army officer, and his mission in Kashmir, with Sivakarthikeyan and Sai Pallavi. Meiyazhagan, C. Prem Kumar's second film in the guide after 96, is the best rated of the era and of the guide at 8.2: a man returns to his native Thanjavur for a wedding after twenty-two years and is reintroduced to a cheerful man he can barely remember.

The era mixes star films and fresh voices. Coolie, Vettaiyan and Raayan sit beside Tourist Family, a 2025 comedy about a Sri Lankan family who start again in India, rated 7.8; Star, about a young man who dreams of becoming a film star; and Dragon, with Pradeep Ranganathan as a school topper who cons his way into a finance career. Three films of 2026 close the guide: Blast, an action thriller rated 7.8, Made in Korea, about a woman from a small Tamil Nadu town who moves to South Korea, and Vishwanath & Sons, with Suriya.

Directors across the three lists

Because the lists run across seventy-four years, the directors who appear most often are the ones whose careers cross them. Mani Ratnam leads with fourteen films and, with Shankar and K. S. Ravikumar, is one of three directors with films in all three lists: three in the 1980s, Mouna Raagam, Nayakan and Agni Natchathiram; four in the 1990s, from Thalapathi to Iruvar; Alaipayuthey, Kannathil Muthamittal, Aayitha Ezhuthu and Raavanan in the Mid list; and O Kadhal Kanmani and the two Ponniyin Selvan films in the New list.

Shankar follows with ten films, from Indian, Jeans and Mudhalvan in the 1990s through Boys, Anniyan, Sivaji: The Boss, Enthiran and Nanban to I and 2.0, the sequel to Enthiran, in the New list. K. S. Ravikumar and A. R. Murugadoss have seven each. Ravikumar's run from Muthu, Avvai Shanmugi and Padayappa to Panchatanthiram, Dasavatharam, Aadhavan and Lingaa shows the big family entertainer of three decades; Murugadoss's from Ghajini to Darbar shows the action thriller with a twist.

The New list brings its own regulars. Karthik Subbaraj has six films, from Pizza in 2012 to Retro in 2025; Lokesh Kanagaraj five, Kaithi, Master, Vikram, Leo and Coolie; Vetrimaaran five, from Aadukalam to Viduthalai: Part I; Atlee four, Raja Rani, Theri, Mersal and Bigil; and Pa. Ranjith three, Kabali, Kaala and Sarpatta Parambarai. Kamal Haasan also appears as a director, with Hey Ram, Virumaandi and Vishwaroopam.

Stars across the three lists

Counting the first three names on each cast list, Rajinikanth is the actor who appears most often, in 26 films from 16 Vayathinile in 1977 to Coolie in 2025, nearly fifty years. He is followed by Vijay with 21 films, from Kushi in 2000 to The Greatest of All Time in 2024, and Kamal Haasan with 20, from 16 Vayathinile in 1977 to Vikram in 2022. Suriya appears in 18, from Friends in 2001 to Vishwanath & Sons in 2026.

Dhanush appears in eleven films and Vijay Sethupathi in ten. Sivaji Ganesan appears in six, which makes him the star of the Old list's oldest films: Parasakthi, Andha Naal, Karnan and Thillana Mohanambal, and later Thevar Magan and Padayappa, where he plays the father of the heroes played by Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth. Among actresses, Nayanthara appears in seven films and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in six, from Iruvar in 1997 to Ponniyin Selvan: Part II in 2023.

Rated 7.5 or more

Thirty-five films in the guide are rated 7.5 or more on TMDB with at least ten votes, and they form the list Rated 7.5 or more. Twenty-two of them come from the New list, nine from the Old list and four from the Mid list. Pariyerum Perumal and Meiyazhagan lead at 8.2, followed by Thalapathi at 8.0, and five films at 7.9: Visaranai, Nayakan, Viduthalai: Part I, Mouna Raagam and Aarilirunthu Arubathu Varai.

The list is a fair summary of what TamilO! offers. It holds Mani Ratnam's Nayakan, Mouna Raagam, Thalapathi, Iruvar and Kannathil Muthamittal; Vetrimaaran's Aadukalam, Visaranai, Vada Chennai, Asuran and Viduthalai: Part I; small films such as Kaaka Muttai, Tourist Family and 16 Vayathinile; and big films such as Vikram, Kaithi and Maharaja.

How long a Tamil film runs

Tamil films are long, and the three lists show it. The 164 films run 156 minutes on average. The Mid list runs longest, 160 minutes on average, with Hey Ram at 199 minutes; the New list averages 155 minutes, with The Greatest of All Time at 183; and the Old list averages 153, with Parasakthi at 188. The shortest films are Agraharathil Kazhutai, at 90 minutes, in the Old list, Game Over, at 97, in the New list, and Unnaipol Oruvan, at 120, in the Mid list.

The first genre that TMDB lists for each film shows the same mix across the lists. Action comes first for 74 films, drama for 32, comedy for 18 and thriller for 15; romance, crime, family and history follow. Many of the films combine several of these: a family drama with fights, a thriller with songs, a romance with comedy.

Rajinikanth across the lists

Rajinikanth crosses the three lists more completely than any other actor. His 26 films in the guide begin in the Old list with 16 Vayathinile in 1977, where he plays a village rogue beside Kamal Haasan and Sridevi, and with Aarilirunthu Arubathu Varai in 1979, rated 7.9, the story of a man who gives everything to his younger siblings. Through the 1980s he leads Thillu Mullu, the 1980 Billa, Johnny, Moondru Mugam, Dharmathin Thalaivan and Guru Sishyan, and in the 1990s six films, the largest share of the decade for any actor in the guide: Thalapathi, Annamalai, Baasha, Muthu, Arunachalam and Padayappa.

In the Mid list he has three films, two of them the most voted of their eras: Chandramukhi in 2005, Sivaji: The Boss in 2007 and Enthiran in 2010, the most voted film of the guide. The New list holds nine more, from Lingaa in 2014 and Kabali in 2016 to 2.0, Kaala, Petta, Darbar, Jailer, Vettaiyan and Coolie in 2025. Read from first to last, his shelf covers nearly fifty years, and his best rated film remains Thalapathi, at 8.0, from 1991.

Kamal Haasan across the lists

Kamal Haasan's twenty films in the guide are the most varied of any actor. In the Old list he plays a handicapped village youth who secretly loves his cousin in 16 Vayathinile, an amnesiac's protector in Moondram Pirai, a Bombay godfather in Nayakan, twin brothers in Apoorva Sagodharargal and quadruplets in Michael Madana Kama Rajan. In the 1990s he plays the London-educated son of a village chief in Thevar Magan, an old freedom fighter in Indian and a man disguised as an old woman in Avvai Shanmugi.

The Mid list holds eight of his films: Hey Ram and Virumaandi, which he also directed; the comedies Panchatanthiram and Vasool Raja MBBS; Anbe Sivam, his best rated film of the Mid list at 7.7; the police thriller Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu; Dasavatharam, with ten roles; and Unnaipol Oruvan. The New list holds two, Vishwaroopam in 2013 and Vikram in 2022, rated 7.7, his most voted film in the guide with 196 votes.

Vijay and Suriya

Vijay and Suriya are the stars of the Mid and New lists. Vijay appears in 21 films, from Kushi in 2000 and Friends in 2001, which he shares with Suriya, to The Greatest of All Time in 2024. His most voted films are Leo, with 156 votes, Master, Mersal, Thuppakki and Kaththi; his best rated are Thuppakki and Mersal, both at 7.3. Twelve of his 21 films come from the New list.

Suriya appears in eighteen films, and his shelf is unusually well balanced between action and drama. In the Mid list he has the police films Kaakha Kaakha and Singam, the double role of Vaaranam Aayiram, the memory thriller Ghajini and Bala's Pithamagan; in the New list he has the time-travel thriller 24, Soorarai Pottru, about a man who wants to make flying affordable, and Jai Bhim, his most voted film with 262 votes. Soorarai Pottru, at 7.7, is his best rated film in the guide.

Dhanush, Vijay Sethupathi and the newer stars

Dhanush and Vijay Sethupathi are the actors of the New list's best rated films. Dhanush appears in eleven films, from Pudhupettai in 2006 to Captain Miller and Raayan in 2024, and seven of them are rated 7.3 or more, among them Aadukalam, Vada Chennai and Asuran, all with Vetrimaaran. Vijay Sethupathi appears in ten, from Pizza in 2012 to Maharaja in 2024, and four of his films, 96, Super Deluxe, Vikram and Maharaja, are rated 7.7.

Behind them a newer group is already visible. Sivakarthikeyan appears in four films, from 3 in 2012 to Amaran in 2024, the second most voted film of the guide. Karthi appears in four, and they are some of the best rated: Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru at 7.8, Kaithi at 7.6 and Meiyazhagan at 8.2. Pradeep Ranganathan directs and stars in Love Today and stars in Dragon and Dude, three of the most recent comedies on the New list.

Love stories across the lists

Romance runs through all three lists. The Old list has Mouna Raagam, about a young woman who learns to love the husband she was forced to marry; Roja and Bombay, love stories set against conflict; and the comedy of twins in Jeans. The Mid list has Alaipayuthey, about a young couple who marry against their families' wishes, Kushi, Sillunu Oru Kaadhal and Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa, and the New list has O Kadhal Kanmani, Raja Rani, 96, Love Today and Star.

Of all these, 96 is the most voted, with 169 votes, and Mouna Raagam the best rated, at 7.9. Read in order, the love stories on these lists move from arranged marriage and family duty in the 1980s to living together, swapped phones and school reunions in the 2010s and 2020s.

Family and home

If one theme joins the three lists, it is the family. In the Old list, Aarilirunthu Arubathu Varai follows a man who spends his life on his brothers and sisters, Dharmathin Thalaivan two brothers, Padayappa a son whose father gives away the family property, and Avvai Shanmugi a divorced father who disguises himself to stay near his daughter. In the Mid list, Kannathil Muthamittal follows an adopted girl who sets out to find her birth mother, and Vaaranam Aayiram a son who looks back on his father's life after his death.

The New list carries the theme further. Asuran follows a father who tries to save his son after a killing, Velaiyilla Pattathari a long-unemployed young man who finally lands his dream job, and Meiyazhagan, the best rated film of the guide, a man who returns to his childhood town for a wedding. Tourist Family, from 2025, follows a Sri Lankan family who start again in a quiet Indian neighbourhood and bring it back to life. Read together, these films show how often the family sits at the centre of the story.

History and the nation

Many films in the guide look back at history. Parasakthi, the oldest film, opens with a man leaving Burma during the Second World War; Karnan, from 1964, retells a story from the Mahabharata; Hey Ram, from 2000, Kamal Haasan's drama of the partition years, begins when the hero's wife is killed during the riots of 1946. Indian brings an old freedom fighter of the independence struggle into the 1990s, and Iruvar gives a fictional account of two men who shaped Tamil politics.

The New list has its own historical films. Ponniyin Selvan: Part I and Ponniyin Selvan: Part II tell the story of the Chola kingdom in the tenth century; Captain Miller, from 2024, is set in the 1930s under the British Raj; Rocketry: The Nambi Effect follows the rocket scientist Nambi Narayanan; and Amaran tells the true story of Major Mukund Varadarajan, an army officer. Kannathil Muthamittal, in the Mid list, is filed by TMDB under War as well as Drama.

Comedies across the lists

Tamil comedies are well represented on all three lists. The Old list has Thillu Mullu, K. Balachander's comedy of 1981 about a man whose small lie to his boss grows into an elaborate double life, Michael Madana Kama Rajan, with Kamal Haasan as quadruplets separated at birth, and Avvai Shanmugi. The Mid list has Panchatanthiram, Vasool Raja MBBS, about a gangster who enrols in a medical college, and Nanban, Shankar's comedy about college friends.

The New list has the most: Soodhu Kavvum, about a kidnapper with an imaginary girlfriend; Naai Sekar Returns, with Vadivelu; Love Today, about a couple who swap phones; Dragon, about a school topper turned con man; and Tourist Family, rated 7.8, the best rated comedy of the guide. Comedians also appear in the casts of several star films: Vadivelu in Friends and Kaavalan, Vivek in Kushi and Sivaji: The Boss.

Pairs, sequels and remakes

Several films on the lists have partners elsewhere in the guide. Enthiran, in the Mid list, and its sequel 2.0, in the New list, both by Shankar with Rajinikanth, hold 274 and 194 votes. Singam, from 2010, and Singam 2, from 2013, both by Hari with Suriya as the same police officer, sit on either side of the line between the Mid and New lists. Jigarthanda, from 2014, and Jigarthanda DoubleX, from 2023, both by Karthik Subbaraj, sit in two eras of the New list, and the two Ponniyin Selvan films share one era.

Some titles are shared by different films. The 1980 Billa, with Rajinikanth, sits in the Old list, and the 2007 Billa, a remake with Ajith Kumar, in the Mid list. Karnan, from 1964, with Sivaji Ganesan as the archer of the Mahabharata, and Karnan, from 2021, with Dhanush as a young man fighting for his village, share only a name; the same is true of the 1986 Vikram, with Kamal Haasan as a police officer, and the 2022 Vikram, Lokesh Kanagaraj's thriller, in which Kamal Haasan also stars.

Votes across seventy years

The vote counts on TMDB rise steeply as the lists approach the present, and they are worth keeping in mind when reading the ratings. The twenty films before 1990 hold 360 votes between them, eighteen each on average, and only Nayakan, with 100, reaches three figures. The 1990s hold 874 votes, the Mid list 3,315 and the New list 7,916. The single most voted film of the New list, Maharaja, has nearly twice as many votes, 273, as the twelve oldest films of the guide together, which hold 149.

That is why the old films' ratings, from 10 to 30 votes each, can move more easily than those of the new ones, and why the list Rated 7.5 or more asks for at least ten votes. It also explains the shape of the board: the eras of the New list are the busiest on TMDB, but the Old list still has the highest average rating of the three, 7.06.

The quiet classics of the Old list

Among the big star films of the Old list sit a few quieter films that are worth seeking out. Andha Naal, from 1954, is a murder mystery about a radio engineer found dead in Madras, with Sivaji Ganesan in the lead. Agraharathil Kazhutai, from 1977, the shortest film of the guide at ninety minutes, follows a donkey that strays into a Brahmin village and the trouble it causes. Moondram Pirai, Balu Mahendra's film of 1982, follows a young woman who loses her memory after an accident and the man, played by Kamal Haasan, who cares for her.

Thillana Mohanambal, from 1968, is a romance between a classical dancer and a nathaswaram player, full of music; and Sigappu Rojakkal, Bharathiraja's thriller of 1978, with Kamal Haasan as an industrialist with a dark secret, is one of the earliest thrillers in the guide. Each of these has between ten and twenty votes on TMDB, so a few new ratings can move them quickly; all five are worth a place on any list of Tamil classics, and all five are a good way to meet the actors of the Old list in very different roles.

A week through the three lists

For a week with TamilO!, take two films from each list and one from the newest era. Begin with the Old list: Mouna Raagam on the first evening and Baasha on the second. Move to the Mid list with Anbe Sivam and Vaaranam Aayiram, two films about long journeys of the heart. Continue to the New list with Kaaka Muttai, the story of two slum boys and a pizza, and Pariyerum Perumal, the best rated film of the guide. End with Meiyazhagan, from 2024, which shares that rating.

Seven evenings, three lists and almost forty years of Tamil cinema, from 1986 to 2024. Save the seven films to My list before you begin, and press Watch now on each one to see where it can be watched legally in your country.

A second week could follow a single director instead. Mani Ratnam's fourteen films alone run from Mouna Raagam in 1986 to Ponniyin Selvan: Part II in 2023, and thirteen of them are rated 7.0 or more, led by Thalapathi at 8.0 and by Mouna Raagam and Nayakan at 7.9. Watched in order of year, they make a short history of the Tamil film in one director's hands.

Choosing a list for the evening

Each list suits a different evening. For a classic, open the Old list and start with Nayakan, Mouna Raagam or Thalapathi, three Mani Ratnam films all rated 7.9 or more; for a lighter night, try Thillu Mullu or Michael Madana Kama Rajan. For the films of the turn of the century, the Mid list offers Anbe Sivam and Kannathil Muthamittal, both rated 7.7, or the blockbusters Sivaji: The Boss and Enthiran.

For something recent, the New list has the highest share of well-rated films: start with Pariyerum Perumal or Meiyazhagan, the two best rated films of the guide, or with 96 for a love story and Tourist Family for a comedy. And for a long weekend, follow one star across all three lists: Rajinikanth from 16 Vayathinile to Coolie, or Kamal Haasan from 16 Vayathinile to Vikram.

How to read the board

The board on the home page, Ten eras in three lists, shows every era as a box with a thin border. The small blue line above each name tells you its list: Tamil Old Movie List, Tamil Mid Movie List or Tamil New Movie List. The name of the era is printed in red for the Old list, in dark blue for the Mid list and in deep red for the New list, and below it a line gives the number of films. Click a box to jump to its row of posters on the same page.

Each poster card shows the rating in a red tag at the top right, the year in a blue tag at the top left and the era along the bottom edge of the poster. Below the title come the first genre and the running time. The italic Read more link at the end of each row opens the full era on its own page, and the menu opens the three lists, each with every film of its eras.

Searching TamilO!

The search box in the header looks through titles, alternative titles and cast names. Type Nayakan to go straight to the film, Kamal Haasan to see his films, or Roja to reach Mani Ratnam's romance. Tamil titles are often written in several ways in English, and familiar short forms such as PS1 for Ponniyin Selvan: Part I also work. The A–Z page lists all 164 films in alphabetical order.

Watch now on TamilO!

Every film page has a Watch now button. It opens the film on JustWatch for the country you choose, where you can see which official services offer it to stream, rent or buy. Offers change over time, and the button always opens the current page. TamilO! itself is a guide and a set of lists; the watching happens on the official services.

My list on TamilO!

The My list button on every film page saves that film to a personal list kept in your browser, on the device you use. A good way to use it is to save one film from each of the ten eras and watch them in order, from the 1950s to 2026, a short course in Tamil cinema.

TamilO! on a phone

On a small screen the menu moves behind the blue button in the top corner, the board folds into two columns and each row of posters arranges itself in fewer columns. Film pages, lists and the A–Z page all read comfortably on a phone.

Where the data comes from

Titles, synopses, cast, directors, genres, ratings, vote counts and running times come from TMDB, the community film database, as listed in October 2026. Ratings and vote counts keep changing as viewers add their own; the eras follow the rules described above.

Short guides on TamilO!

Every part of the guide has a short help page. Begin with Start with TamilO!, then read The three lists. Each list has its own guide: The Old Movie List, The Mid Movie List and The New Movie List. The numbers are in The figures, the people in Directors and stars, and the design in The look of TamilO!.

For practical help there are Search tips, Watch now, My list, On your phone and Where the data comes from.

Frequently asked questions

For a first visit to TamilO!, take one film from each list. Nayakan from the Old list, Anbe Sivam from the Mid list and Meiyazhagan from the New list: three evenings, three generations of Tamil cinema, and the shape of all three lists in a single week.

Questions