Romantic movies undoubtedly make one want and desire connection. Whether you’re single, dating, or married, a little romance can really lift your spirits, even when you’re at your lowest.
If you are confused about what to search for, here is a list of underrated South Indian romantic movies that everyone should watch at least once on OTT.
1. Salt & Pepper (2011)
- Mould: Lal, Asif Ali, Shweta Menon, Maithili, Baburaj, Vijayaraghavan, Ahmed Siddiqui, Kelu Mooppan, Kalpana, Ambika Mohan
- Director: Aashiq Abu
- Language: Malayalam
- Style: romantic comedy
- Runtime: 2 hours 12 minutes
- Where to watch: SunNXT/ManoramaMax
Salt N’ Pepper is an adorable romantic film that was the talk of the town when it released in 2011. However, its importance has declined over the years, especially outside Kerala.
The story revolves around Kalidasan, an archaeologist and food lover who lives with his cook Babu. His nephew Manu Raghav soon decides to live with him. Kalidasan lives a life without romantic interest, but everything changes when Maya, a dubbing artiste, accidentally calls him while trying to reach a restaurant.
What follows is a rich and heartfelt story of how this middle-aged man and woman connect over a phone call, slowly falling in love because of their shared passion, especially for food.
2. Kadhal Mannan (1998)
- Mould: Ajith Kumar, Manu, MS Vishwanathan, Vivek, Nithya, Karan, Girish Karnad, Dharini, Ramesh Khanna, Rathan Mauli, Dhamu
- Director: saran
- Language: tamil
- Style: romantic drama
- Runtime: 2 hours 16 minutes
- Where to watch: amazon prime video
If you think Ajith Kumar is only known for action entertainers, you couldn’t be more wrong. Long before he became “AK”, he was Kadhal Mannan, the king of romance.
Kadhal Mannan follows Shiva, a mechanic who travels to Delhi on a dare to deliver a letter to Thilothama. After meeting her, Shiva and Thilothama fall in love, but their romance faces severe opposition from her authoritarian father, Rudran, who despises love after his elder daughter runs away.
The film depicts the couple’s struggle against Rudran’s rigid beliefs and his planning of a pre-arranged marriage for her.
3. Andala Rakshasi (2012)
- Mould: Rahul Ravindran, Lavanya Tripathi, Naveen Chandra, Pragati, CVL Narasimha Rao, Mickey Makhija
- Director: Hanu Raghavapudi
- Language: Telugu
- Style: romance drama
- Runtime: 2 hours 19 minutes
- Where to watch: amazon prime video
Before Sita Ramam, director Hanu Raghavapudi had debuted with a similar tragic romantic drama, Andala Rakshasi.
The film is based on a rich man Gautam who falls in love with Mithun at first sight. When he learns that she has been seriously injured in an accident, he pays for her medical expenses. After recovering, Mithuna reveals that she is in love with Surya, an artist believed to be dead.
While Gautam tries to win her heart, the two eventually fall in love, but Gautam realizes that he has lost his sanity after believing that Surya is alive but Mithun has died. The film explores which of the three chooses sacrifice for the greater good.
4. Om Shanti Oshana (2014)
- Mould: Nazriya Nazim Fahadh, Nivin Pauly, Vineet Srinivasan, Aju Varghese, Renji Panikkar, Anju Kurian, Akshay Premnath, Manju Satish, Vinay Prasad, Sharaf U Dheen, Nikki Galrani (cameo)
- Director: Jude Anthony Joseph
- Language: Malayalam
- Style: futuristic romantic comedy
- Runtime: 2 hours 16 minutes
- Where to watch: jiohotstar
If you found Nivin Pauly attractive in Premam, then you definitely need to watch Thattathin Marayathu and Om Shanthi Oshana.
The film explores the life of a 90s girl, Pooja, who at the age of 15 develops a crush on Giri, a man slightly older than her. A natural rebel, Pooja decides that she will choose the man she loves instead of having an arranged marriage. She is initially attracted to her popular classmate Yardley, but everything changes when she encounters Ciri.
After this, it changes from teenage infatuation to love that endures time. The film was one of the early ventures that ushered in a new era of contemporary Malayalam cinema.
5. Enakku 20 Unakku 18 / Nee Manasu Naku Telusu (2003)
- Mould: Tarun, Trisha Krishnan, Shriya Saran, Vivek (Tamil), Sunil (Telugu), Manivannan (Tamil), Tanikella Bharani (Telugu), Riyaz Khan, Archana Puran Singh, Devdarshini
- Director: AM Jyoti Krishnan
- Languages: tamil telugu
- Style: musical romantic comedy
- Runtime: 1 hour 59 minutes
- Where to watch: sunnxt
Enakku 20 Unakku 18 (or Nee Manasu Naku Telusu in Telugu) is a musical romantic comedy led by Tarun and Trisha Krishnan.
The film is the story of Sridhar and Preeti, who meet in Mumbai but fail to confess their feelings to each other in time. Only knowing that the other lives in Chennai, both set out separately to find each other in the vast city, in the hope that fate will reunite them.
Although the story is simple, the film is famous for its beautiful soundtrack composed by AR Rahman, which is a must-listen album.
6. Anand (2004)
- Mould: Raja, Kamalini Mukherjee, Anuj Gurwara, Anish Kuruvilla, Satya Krishnan, Bakhitha Francis, Chandana Chakraborty, Gopichand Lagdapati
- Director: Shekhar Kammula
- Language: Telugu
- Style: romantic drama
- Runtime: 3 hours
- Where to watch: jiohotstar
Anand follows Roopa, an independent woman who is trying to move on after losing her family in a car accident. She gradually falls in love with Anand, a businessman who lives as her neighbor and tries to win her over, but later she learns that it was her father who caused the accident that killed his family.
The story explores their evolving relationship amid the challenges of Roopa’s pride, her father’s guilt, and a past failed romance.
7. Ennum Epozhum (2015)
- Mould: Mohanlal, Manju Warrier, Innocent, Leena, Reenu Mathews, Jacob Gregory, Minnon John, Renji Panicker, Kalpana
- Director: Satyan Anthikad
- Language: Malayalam
- Style: romantic comedy drama
- Runtime: 2 hours 27 minutes
- Where to watch: jiohotstar
Ahead of the release of Hridayapoorvam in 2025, veteran Mohanlal and Sathyan Anthikad collaborated for the romantic comedy drama Ennum Eppozhum. Although the film received mixed reviews, its mature and heartfelt story makes it a warm and cozy watch.
Film Vineet N. Pillai, an irresponsible senior journalist who is on the verge of losing his job. To save herself, she is assigned to interview lawyer Deepa, a single mother.
What starts out as a simple assignment turns into a series of humorous attempts to secure an interview, leading to chaos. As he learns more about Deepa’s personal life, their dynamic develops into a gentle romance that may or may not blossom.
These are some of the underrated romantic South Indian movies that you can watch on OTT.
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