Starring: Sivakarthikeyan, Priyanka Arul Mohan Director: Nelson Dilipkumar

Before he directed Beast and Jailer, Nelson gave us Doctor. This dark comedy thriller follows a military doctor on a mission to rescue his fiancée’s niece from a human trafficking ring. The film is famous for its "cold" protagonist and the hilarious "Railway station la bet" scene. It perfectly balances edge-of-the-seat tension with laugh-out-loud humor.

Why watch it: A masterclass in how to blend dark humor with a serious subject.

With vaccination rates up, big stars finally dared to release theatrical films.

Beyond the superstars, the most fascinating aspect of the 2021 Tamil films list is the emergence of unconventional, content-driven movies. With theatres desperate for content and OTT platforms hungry for unique stories, filmmakers took risks.

| Film | Platform | Cast | |------|----------|------| | Naan Sirithal | SonyLIV | Hiphop Tamizha, Iswarya Menon | | Boomerang | ZEE5 | Megha Akash, Munishkanth | | Chakra | SonyLIV | Vishal, Shraddha Srinath | | Pulikkuthi Pandi | Disney+ Hotstar | Vikram Prabhu, Lakshmi Menon | | Yennai Arindhaal… Reboot (Anthology) | SonyLIV | Various | | Netrikann | Disney+ Hotstar | Nayanthara, Manikandan | | Maara | Amazon Prime | Madhavan, Shraddha Srinath | | Udanpirappe | Amazon Prime | Jyothika, Sasikumar | | Plan Panni Pannanum | ZEE5 | Rio Raj, Ramya Nambeesan | | Thittam Irandu | SonyLIV | Aishwarya Rajesh, Pavithrah | | Aelay | Netflix | Samuthirakani, Manikandan |

If you are short on time, here is the must-watch Tamil films list 2021: