Kantara Chapter 1 to Coolie and Lokah: 5 south Indian films in IMDb’s Most Popular Indian Movies of 2025 | Full list here
The superhit Hindi musical romance drama Saiyaara by Mohit Suri tops the list, and its lead pair, Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda are the top two most popular actors too.
Last Updated: 12.40 PM, Dec 10, 2025
2025 is nearly drawing to a close, so it is not surprising that the internet is buzzing with recaps of the year that was and lists of what netizens searched most for. For movie buffs, there are dime-a-dozen compilations of the top films across industries and languages, popular actors, and so much more. The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) India has also just revealed the top 10 most popular Indian Movies of 2025, which, interestingly enough, is split evenly between Bollywood and the south.
Here are the top 10 most popular Indian films of 2025 according to IMDb
This time around, 5 south Indian films, if one were to include Mahavatar Narsimha’s Kannada original origins, have made it to the top 10. The list is, of course, topped by one of the year’s big hits, the Hindi musical romance drama Saiyaara, with its lead cast Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda emerging the top two most popular actors in India. Released in theatres on July 18, Saiyaara has been ranked the third highest grossing movie of the year.
In second place is the animated devotional action drama Mahavatar Narsimha, directed by Ashwin Kumar. The first of a proposed 7-part animated Mahavatar Cinematic Universe, Mahavatar Narsimha chronicled two avatars of Vishnu – Varaha and Narsimha. Vicky Kaushal as Sambhaji brought the historical action film Chhaava to the third position.
In fourth place is actor-filmmaker Rishab Shetty’s Kantara prequel, Kantara Chapter 1, which is the highest grossing Indian film of the year. Rounding off the top 5 is the Lokesh Kanagaraj directed Superstar Rajinikanth-led Coolie, which, despite mixed reviews, is the fourth highest grossing film of 2025, just below Saiyaara.
The rest of the IMDb Most Popular Indian Movies of 2025 list is populated by Pradeep Ranganathan’s hit Dragon, Aamir Khan’s Sitaare Zameen Par, Shahid Kapur’s Deva, Ajay Devgn’s Raid 2 and last, but definitely not the least, the highest grossing Malayalam film, that’s also led by a female actor, Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra .
Full list of IMDb's Most Popular Indian Films of 2025
| 1 | Saiyaara | 6 | Dragon |
| 2 | Mahavatar Narsimha | 7 | Sitaare Zameen Par |
| 3 | Chhaava | 8 | Deva |
| 4 | Kantara Chapter 1 | 9 | Raid 2 |
| 5 | Coolie | 10 | Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra |
Some of these top 10 titles are available to stream via OTTplay Premium, like, for instance, Kantara Chapter 1 and Coolie (with top-up subscriptions for Amazon Prime Video), and Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra (JioHotstar via OTTplay).
FAQs
Q. Where to watch Saiyaara on OTT?
A. You can watch Saiyaara, starring young actors Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda, on Netflix. Mohit Suri directs this 2025 musical drama, which is among the highest-grossers of the year.
Q. Has Kantara Chapter 1 released in OTT?
A. Rishab Shetty's Kantara Chapter 1 released on Amazon Prime Video in October 2025. OTTplay Premium subscribers can also watch the epic Kannada film, which also stars Rukmini Vasanth, by topping up their plan to include Prime Video.