10 Best Romantic Tamil Movies to Watch on Valentine’s Day!

On the topic of the Best Romantic Tamil Movies, Kollywood is always known, appreciated, and celebrated for its practical and true-to-life portrayals of romantic dramas without glamorizing its content with flashy songs, dream sequences and nonsensical story beats. With filmmakers like Mani Ratnam always trying to reinvent the genre and showcasing fresh new narratives, there are a handful of movies that are worth your time, energy and will leave you with an everlasting impact through and through. So, here’s presenting the Best Romantic Tamil Movies you shouldn’t miss watching on any given day.

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10. Kaadhal Mannan

Director – Saran
Starring – Ajith & Mannu
Streaming Platform – YouTube

Kadhal Mannan starring Ajith Kumar and Mannu in the lead roles is about a mechanic falling for a girl, whose father hates the word ‘Love.’ When Ajith was in the struggling phase of his career, this film helped him earn the ‘Chocolate Boy’ status. With a simple plot as the basis, director Saran gave some memorable romance scenes in this film. The soft-spoken love between the leads, the natural performance from Ajith, and the comedy track of legendary music composer M. S. Viswanathan and Vivek made this one of the memorable romantic films from the 90s.

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9. Kaadhal

Director – Balaji Shakthivel
Starring – Bharath & Sandhya
Streaming Platform – Disney+ Hotstar

Best Romantic Tamil Movies: Directed by Balaji Shakthivel and starring Bharath and Sandhya in the lead roles, Kaadhal is the most realistic portrayal of what could happen if you happen to fall in love with a girl from higher society or caste. With honor killings still prevalent in our society, the gut wrenching climax of the film will haunt you for a while. Based on few real life events, Kaadhal is not your regular romance film with a happy ending, rather is the true state of many couples in South India.

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8. 7/G Rainbow Colony

Director – Selvaraghavan
Starring – Ravi Krishna & Sonia Agarwal
Streaming Platform – SUN NXT

Selvaraghavan’s 2004 romantic-drama, 7/G Rainbow Colony, is a perfect example of a no-nonsense movie, and its narrative solidifies the term, ‘As real as it gets.’ The practical characters of the lead stars, pragmatic mess-ups, and situations that they endure through, the not-so pleasing ending, and most importantly, the excellent music by Yuvan Shankar Raja makes this film a compelling watch. And unfortunately, this storyline might not be encouraged and might not appeal to today’s cancel culture generation.

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7. OK Kanmani

Director – Mani Ratnam
Starring – Dulquer Salmaan & Nithya Menen
Streaming Platform – Disney+ Hotstar

[Also featured in our ‘Best Tamil Movies on Hotstar’ list]

With one of the best storytellers in the business, Mani Ratnam, his 2015 romantic outing, OK Kanmani works and is revered for its contemporary take on the modern, busy, and candid millennial relationships. The fast, perplexing narrative structure perfectly represents the crux of the film, and the lead couple, Dulquer Salmaan and Nithya Menen as the modern couple, share amazing on-screen chemistry inside and out.

Furthermore, PC Sreeram’s cinematography alongside Rahman’s music stands out and helps the film throughout the narrative and contributes support when it’s needed. With a light-hearted premise filled with happy moments, OK Kanmani is a joy to watch, however, it might not appeal to everybody.

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6. Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa

Director – Gautham Vasudev Menon
Starring – Trisha Krishnan & Simbu
Streaming Platform – Disney+ Hotstar

Undoubtedly one of the Best Romantic Tamil Movies made in the last decade, Gautham Vasudev Menon’s Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa, tells a practical story between the couple, Karthik and Jessie, and authentically displays the sheer madness and the intensity in a relationship through beautifully written characters and dialogue.

A. R. Rahman’s music acts as one of the primary fortitudes and supports the complicated storyline with an even more unorthodox songwriting technique, and the camera work by Manoj Paramahamsa captures the vibe of the film perfectly. A movie filled with a wide range of emotions that are justifiable and totally pragmatic, VTV excels beyond the genre and is rightfully celebrated by millions to this day.

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5. Sillunu Oru Kaadhal

Director – Krishna
Starring – Suriya & Jyothika
Streaming Platform – Amazon Prime [Select]

Sillunu Oru Kaadhal, directed by Krishna, details the purity of love, faith, and the hardships of an arranged married couple in a beautifully crafted, nearly 180-minute romantic drama that will stick with you for a while. The endearing chemistry between the real-life duo, Suriya and Jyothika, and the final one-hour that displays more of a matured relationship paragons makes Sillunu Oru Kaadhal a profound movie with a significant message. Furthermore, A. R. Rahman’s music, especially the songs, Munbe Vaa and Newyork Nagaram still, to this day, maintain that high spirit and emotion the film created back in 2006.

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4. Moondram Pirai

Director – Balu Mahendra
Starring – Sridevi & Kamal Haasan
Streaming Platform – YouTube

Best Romantic Tamil Movies: Released 38 years ago, Moondram Pirai enjoys the cult classic status for its unadulterated portrayal of love. This Balu Mahendra directorial handled the subject distinctively and it is nothing short of visual poetry. The magical chemistry between Sridevi and Kamal Haasan, the beautiful locale of Ooty, the divine rendition of ‘Kanne Kalaimane’ by the legend K. J. Yesudas, Ilaiyaraaja’s mesmerizing music and the unforgettable climax which is etched in the heart’s of every cinema lover, makes Moondram Pirai one of the Best Romantic Tamil Movies of all time.

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3. Alaipayuthey

Director – Mani Ratnam
Starring – R. Madhavan & Shalini
Streaming Platform – YouTube

Alaipayuthey is a heartwarming tale of love, and inspired generations of filmmakers and movies with its authentic, unorthodox, and contemporary narrative. The essence of the film to showcase a much more realistic take on relationships and that it’s not all sunshine and rainbows in a couple’s life is embraced and commended by millions of film admirers around the nation. The soulful music by A. R. Rahman still stands the test of time as this 137-minute classic from Mani Ratnam is a rollercoaster ride of sincere emotions from start to finish.

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2. Kadhalukku Mariyadhai

Director – Fazil
Starring – Vijay & Shalini
Streaming Platform – YouTube

If you ask anyone from Tamilnadu to name a few romance genre films, I bet that this would be in their list. Remake of Director Fazil’s own Malayalam film, Kadhaluku Mariyathai was and is still one of the best films in this genre. This movie also established ‘Thalapathy’ Vijay as a well-known actor in the 90s. Apart being a love story, Fazil’s way of handling the screenplay, with the two characters hailing from different religion and each one of them being a dear to their respective folks and the inclusion of family values in the film sets it apart from other movies.

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1. Mouna Ragam

Director – Mani Ratnam
Starring – Mohan & Revathi
Streaming Platform – YouTube

Finally, top on the list of the Best Romantic Tamil Movies, in an era filled with cliched love stories, Master storyteller, Mani Ratnam broke the stigma with his classic, Mouna Ragam. Celebrated as one of the finest romance dramas ever, Ratnam spoke the unspoken, inner conflicts of the lead lady’s inability to come to terms with her past and make her present life with her husband miserable for both of them. What makes Mouna Ragam an exemplary work of art is Mani Ratnam’s distinctive presentation skills, PC Sreeram’s splendid camera work, and rich magical scores of Ilaiyaraaja. The movie is still relevant in these times, and it also served as an inspiration to many other hit films.

Written by Surya Komal & Nirmal Raj

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