Many South Indian actors have made remarkable stories the most memorable with their acting skills and presentation of the characters in the most effective way.
Several movies exist, which portray true stories and give the audience the best experience.
Actors give their best to make the movies hit— this rules the hearts of the audience, where the actors become superstars.
There are many south Indian movies from top actors which have inspired Bollywood movies due to the outstanding performances and the fine storyline.
In this blog, let’s discuss the best south Indian actors based on their popularity and the fame they carry in the film industry.
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List of the top South Indian Artists who make movies magical
South Indian actors have contributed to the best roles that have made movies most entertaining for audiences from all over India and abroad.
Let’s deep dive into the top-ranked South Indian actors based on the preference of the people and the popularity they have gained over time.
1. Mohanlal
Mohanlal is a popular actor who had his acting debut in the Malayalam Cinema industry in 1978, with the movie called ‘Thiranottam’.
The movie, however, was released after 25 years, in 2003, due to censorship concerns. He made his silver screen debut in 1980, in the movie ‘Manjil Virinja Pookkal’.
One of the most eminent south Indian Actors male, he is also a renowned singer, writer, and film producer.
He had made a huge commercial success with the release of ‘Rajavinte Makan’ in 1986.
He has a record of winning 5 national awards and has grabbed the Padma Shri honor.
Presenting his amazing works in Malayalam, and other languages like Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, and Hindi, he built a career with 400 movies in 4 decades.
Also Read: Top Ten Indian Singers Male
2. Vijay
Vijay is one of the favorite Tamil South Indian actors for the crowd.
Born in Chennai, Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar is an actor, musician, dancer, and philanthropist. He started a career in drama and made his acting debut in films in 1984.
He is the second-ranked celebrity after Rajinikanth with popularity across South India.
He gained the attention of the audience as a romantic hero right from his first blockbuster ‘Poove Unakkaga’ in 1996.
Thirumalai, Priyamudan, Khushi, Ghilli, Nanban, Master, Jilla, Beast, Sarkar, and Varisu are some of his best hits.
He has acted in lead roles in 66 films and won many awards, including the prestigious South Indian International Movie Award.
3. Mammootty
Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail, famous as Mammootty, is well known for his excellent work in Malayalam movies.
He has also proven to be a versatile actor in even Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, and Hindi movies.
With a career span of over 5 decades, Mammooty has given life to over 400 films.
He started his entry into movies with ‘Anubhavangal Paalichakal’ in 1971.
Mammootty also won the National Film Award and Padma Shri honor for his amazing performances.
Also Read: Top 10 Singers In India Female
4. Ram Charan
One of the youngest and most talented South Indian actors, Ram Charan is an actor, producer, and businessman.
He is the son of legendary actor Chiranjeevi, and one of the top performers in the Telugu Cinema industry.
He won the Telugu Filmfare award for the best male debut for his acting in ‘Chirutha’, in 2007.
The blockbuster in 2009, ‘Magadheera’ earned the biggest box office honor until 2013, for which he earned the best actor Filmfare Award.
He became a part of many movies, which duly bestowed with box office successes, Filmfare Awards, and SIIMA awards for the best Telugu Actor.
His major works include Yevadu, Racha Dhruva, Nayak, RRR, etc.
5. Allu Arjun
Allu Arjun is an accomplished Telugu film actor and is well known for his romantic movies all over South India.
He made his acting debut in 1985, in the movie ‘Daddy’ at the age of three, and later acted in ‘Vijetha’ in 1986.
However, he had begun making hits in his career with ‘Gangotri’ in 2003, and ‘Arya’ in 2004, where he gained three awards and more popularity.
His dance, acting brilliance, and amazing performance have gifted him with 33 awards altogether.
Some of the popular Allu Arjun movies include Arya 2, Happy be Happy, Badrinath, Pushpa, Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, Race Gurrum, Desumduru Parugu, etc.
6. Rajinikanth
Rajinikanth is considered the megastar of the Tamil cinema Industry, born on December 12, 1950.
He has been a very successful South Indian actor with his style of acting and performing.
He made his debut in movies through ‘Apoorva Ragangal’ in 1975, which helped him gain more fame and roles in the movies that followed.
He had managed negative roles at the beginning of his career and later made a cinematic hit in 1983, through ‘Andhaa Kanoon’, popular across India.
‘Mullum Malarum’ was yet another blockbuster in 1996, which earned many positive reviews and gave him his first Tamil Nadu and Filmfare honours.
He is the first-ever Indian actor to star in colour, 3D, and black & white movies.
His versatile grace and style, powerful language delivery, actions, punch lines, and amazing personality won the most attention from the audience.
The other successful Rajinikanth films include Shivaji, Baasha, Enthiran, Kaala, Petta, etc.
Rajinikanth has also won Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, Kalaimamani, and N.T.R. National Awards, along with 41 awards and 58 nominations.
7. Mahesh Babu
Mahesh Babu is the son of Krishna Murthy, a famous actor, and established his signature as an actor and producer.
He had begun making a cinematic appearance as a child artist in 1979, for the movie ‘Needa’ and later made his debut in ‘Rajakumarudu’ in a lead role in 1999.
His major movies include Okkadu, Pokiri, Athadu, Dookudu, and Khaleja.
He has developed a unique style and position in Tollywood Cinema, winning the hearts of South Indian audiences.
He is one of the best south Indian actors and has won many valuable awards like seven Nandi Awards, three CineMAA Awards, five Filmfare awards, an International Indian Film Academy Award, and three South Indian International Movie Awards.
He got married to Namrata Shirodkar, a famous heroine.
Mahesh Babu had also been tagged in the media as one of the most attractive celebrities across India.
8. Surya
Saravanan Sivakumar, popularly known as Surya is an actor, producer, TV host, and philanthropist.
He made his entry into cinema in 1997, with ‘Nerukku Ner’. Another movie that gained good reviews was ‘Nandha’ in 2001.
His classic hit ‘ Khaka Khaka’ in 2003 was a commercial success, which made him a promising actor in the South Indian film industry.
Some of the prestigious awards he received were Filmfare Awards, Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, and National Film Awards.
The most notable movies of Surya include Vaaranam Aayiram, Singham, Ezham Arivu, Ghajini, Ayan, 24, Sillunu oru Kaadhal, etc.
He is an active social worker and founded Agaram Foundation to carry out charitable operations.
He got married to an actress, Jyothika and has two children.
9. Dhanush
Dhanush is an inevitable actor in this list of the most shining South Indian actors and singers.
Dhanush, originally Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja, was born in 1983 in Madras and started acting in ‘Thulluvadho Ilamai’ in 2002.
His forever hit ‘Kolaveri Di’ was the first Indian song that surpassed 100+ million YouTube views.
He then won the 58th National film award, the best actor award in 2010 for Aadukalam and the 60th Filmfare award too.
Again his Rowdy baby was the only South Indian song that exceeded 1 billion views on YouTube in 2018.
In 2013, he made his debut in Hindi film through ‘Raanjhana’ which again won Filmfare nominations.
Other mesmerizing movies of Dhanush include Vada Chennai, Power Pandi, Velai Illa Pattathari, Maari, etc.
2021 saw his other best movie ‘Atrangi Re’ which gained many positive reviews among the audience.
10. Prabhas
Prabhas is yet another successful and established actor in South India, who focuses mainly on Telugu movies.
He made his first debut in 2002 through Eeswar and later moved to Varaham, Billa, Chakra, Ek Niranjan, etc.
He has made significant achievements with a huge fan base from all over India through stunning performances.
His all-time superhit was ‘Bahubali’ which brought more achievements to his film career.
He won seven Filmfare nominations and six awards for the box office hits, ‘ Bahubali the beginning’, and ‘Baahubali the conclusion’.
Saaho was his Hindi debut movie in 2019, which collected over 433 crores, which gave him the glowing title of biggest-grossing debut actor.
The recent initiatives of Prabhas include Adipurush, Radhe Shyam, Salar, etc.
The Parting Shot
You might have now got to know the top South Indian actors male and their significant contributions to South Indian cinema.
Many of them have been into even Bollywood cinemas or have even given inspiration to Bollywood to recreate the characters they have enacted.
Several actors have got the chance to prove across various languages in South Indian movies and create their style in the movies.
Is there any south Indian actor whom you admire and think should be added to our list?
Let’s talk about those actors in the comments below.
