The South film industry is flying with glory, not only big movies like RRR, Ponniyin Selvan and KGF have become hits, but small budget movies with no star studded cast have also become super hits at the box office. The last few years have been an example of how content is everything. If you have a good script and talented actors in hand, the movie is sure to reach audiences, and movies like Kantara, Balagam, Love Today and more have proved it.

When a movie is announced, the initial question is who is the hero, heroine or director. If it’s someone we haven’t heard much about, audiences basically haven’t shown much interest. However, things have changed now. With no star power and low budget, some excellent movies hit the cinema halls this time and became super hits. They proved that a film should not be judged on the cast, technicians or budget. In the end, it’s only the story and performance that describe how good the movie is.

Here are 5 recent movies from South that had no star power but became hits, won accolades and proved that content is king.

love today

The Tamil romantic film Love Today deserves to be the first on the list. The film did not have such a huge buzz or heavy promotions, which made audiences watch. Just word of mouth about how good it is. And soon a film, which was made on a budget of 5 crores, became the highest grossing film with Rs 150 crores at the box office.

Love Today did not feature any big star, not even an actor who had a few movies. The film is made and stars Pradeep Ranganathan, who made his directorial and acting debut. Ivana played the role of the female lead and her performance opened the floodgates of opportunities in the Tamil film industry. Although the film featured debutants in lead roles, it had talented actors Yogi Babu, Sathyaraj and Raadhika Sarathkumar in supporting roles.

The story of Love Today revolves around a young couple who are made to exchange their phones for a week. The unique concept has gripped the audiences to theaters as it is so familiar to the everyday lives of today’s generation. The film managed to unfold many emotions with just one thing, a mobile phone. In fact, it was so well received that the film was initially released only in Tamil, but with massive response, it was later released in all South languages. A few days ago it was also announced that Love Today will soon be remade in Hindi.

Dadaist

Dada is another Tamil film, which also features debutant actors and directors. An interesting storyline and great performances were the key factors to strike the right chord with the audiences. Dada was released theatrically on 10 February 2023 and received positive reviews from critics and became a commercial success at the box office.

Kavin and Aparna Das’ performance and chemistry was highly appreciated. It didn’t have a bad or cheesy romance and showed a beautiful story of accidental pregnancy and fatherhood. One reason the film became such a massive hit is that it felt real, connected with audiences. It had no top budget, extravagant visuals, stars or commercial elements, just a nice feel-good story.

balagam

Balagam was another surprise movie that made it big in the Telugu film industry. The film is a true star of how good actors are everything. The director has cast Priyadarshan, who is known for his acting and comedy roles, as the lead. Many of the cast are the actors of the theater. So basically people had no idea about anyone from the film. And despite that it reached every nook and cranny of the Telugu states and also got the actor recognition.

Balagam was the directorial debut of Venu Yeldandi, who is known for his comic roles in Tollywood. He made a great debut as he drew the crowd beyond his target audiences to the theater and made them praise the film. Balagam, which revolves around the mourning of a beloved family member, generated a considerable amount of laughter, emotions and family bonding. The climax was the jewel of the film.

Good performances and a storyline that touches the roots of audiences worked best for Balagam. With good word of mouth and some great reviews, the film stood out and shone bright.

masooda

It is very rare that people like horror movies as it is a difficult genre to attract audiences to watch. However, Masood did the job incredibly well. Again the film has no big stars. Only veteran actor Sangeetha and debutant actors like Thiruveer, Kavya Kalyanram and Subhalekha Sudhakar, who impressed with their performances. The film was released on 18 November 2022 and became a commercial success with box office collections above their small budget.

More than scary elements, it has thrilling edge-of-the-seat moments, which kept audiences glued to the screens. Once again the debutant director did just the right job with his writing and direction. In fact, the ending of the film, which confirms the second part, left audiences very intrigued.

Romancham

Malayalam movies have time and again proved that language is a barrier and the recently released film Romancham is one such. The cast of seven, Soubin Shahir, Arjun Ashokan, Sajin Gopu, Siju Sunny, and Abin Bino left the theater roaring with laughter and cheering at the performance and comedy timing. Made from Rs 1.75 crores, the film has done an extraordinary job by collecting Rs 39 crores from the worldwide market.

Debutant filmmaker Jithu Madhavan, the film is about seven bachelors who try to communicate with spirits, and a ghost named Anamika makes contact. Is it something every boarding student has tried once? Well, that’s where the audience is. Along with horror, it has loads of laughs and you know a film is good when you see the whole theater enjoying it.

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