For those uninformed, there are a few film industries in India that make films in their local languages. Though Bollywood, the Indian Hindi film industry, is the one that makes the most impact, the country’s Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, and Bengali film industries are

catching up quickly and have already left their imprint. The Telugu film industry has existed since 1909, and its role in the art of cinema in the subcontinent cannot be matched to this day. Telugu cinema’s popularity has prompted world streaming platforms, including Prime Video, to include a number of Telugu films in their libraries, providing more choices for the audience in the world of cinema.

24. Ghaati (2025)

‘Ghaati’ stars Anushka Shetty as Sheelavathi and Vikram Prabhu as Desi Raju, lovers who plan to rid their community of the clutches of the Naidu brothers, who run the cannabis trade using the community’s people as workers. Together, Sheelavathi and Raju begin their own cannabis trade, which threatens the business of the Naidus. This is in the form of a battle, which ultimately leads to a tragedy that drives Sheelavathi into a killing frenzy. Her desire to punish the perpetrators is made picturish with action sequences, accompanied by a rather well-established character progression of a woman who wishes to do justice to her close and dear ones. ‘Ghaati’ is helmed by Krish Jagarlamudi. You can view it here.

23. Uppu Kappurambu (2025)

A new village head has to deal with the strange issue of the deficiency of burial spots in Ani. I.V. Sasi’s comedy drama ‘Uppu Kappurambu.’ Keerthy Suresh is Apoorva, who is made the new head of the village upon the death of the last head, her father. When the villagers learn that there are only four spaces left in the cemetery, all hell breaks loose as they begin to fight one another to occupy the spaces, taking Apoorva on a rabbit hole of absurdity. With an intriguing story and a sweet execution, ‘Uppu Kappurambu’ presents a fun and offbeat bingeing experience. You can stream the movie here.

22. Matka (2024)

Karuna Kumar’s era action thriller ‘Matka’ is inspired by the life of Matka King Ratan Khatri, who transformed the matka gambling system in Mumbai during the 1960s. Matka began as a game for betting on the opening and closing prices of New York Cotton Exchange cotton

and developed into a country-wide network for gambling in India under Khatri. Directed by Venky Atluri, this film is set in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, and depicts how Vasu (Varun Tej) comes to the city and gradually becomes a successful businessman, then becomes involved with Matka and becomes an accomplished businessman. But all crimes are eventually uncovered, and we get to see how Vasu fights his destiny after being betrayed by his business partners, with the government gradually closing in on him. Starring Meenakshi Chaudhary, Saloni Aswani, Srinivasa Reddy, and Sharath Lohithaswa alongside him, ‘Matka’ is a riveting drama that realistically captures the 1950s along with exploring the life of the protagonist, from his modest origins to being a successful gangster and his destiny. You may view the movie here.

21. Swag (2024)

Hasith Goli’s romantic comedy ‘Swag’ is a multi-generational story and centers on an inheritance. A ruling in the 16th-century queen of the Swaganika matriarchy sparks a modern-day battle between a few successors vying for the Swaganika riches. What turns the comedy of errors is that some of them are impersonators, and there’s also an antagonist family determined to take over the wealth. Starring Sree Vishnu, Ritu Varma, Sunil, and Daksha Nagarkar, ‘Swag’ performs a decent job with a story on gender equality and a battle of the sexes spanning centuries and playing perfectly well as a family entertainer. You can watch it here.

20. Mazaka (2025)

Trinadha Rao Nakkina’s ‘Mazaka’ revolves around a father-son duo who become infatuated with a woman and her niece, respectively. Krishna romances Meera, an attempt that the latter’s father, Ramana, steers to the success of marriage by seeking out a spouse for himself and creating a complete family. But Ramana becomes enamored with Yashodha, who happens to be Meera’s aunt, and who she doesn’t get along with very well. How the two guys attempt to build a family by dismantling the barriers that stand between the two women and isolate them from one another is the core concept of the rom-com. The duo, however, needs to be wary of a fellow named Bhargav Varma, who is determined to get his revenge for a loss they inflicted upon him in the past. Starring Rao Ramesh, Sundeep Kishan, Ritu Varma, Murali Sharma, and Anshu, ‘Mazaka’ is a bingeworthy and fun drama about how at times love becomes a tag-team match. You can stream it here.

19. Balagam (2023)

Venu Yeldandi’s ‘Balagam’ is a family drama with Priyadarshi Pulikonda, Kavya Kalyanram, and Sudhakar Reddy. The movie revolves around Sayilu (Pulikonda) whose granddad’s death puts his wedding on hold. This is not good for him since he would have settled his debt to a nasty moneylender using the dowry from the union. Without his marriage being put on hold indefinitely, he comes up with an alternative means of accessing the amount. His journey will not be smooth, though, since marrying a cross-cousin is taboo, for goodness’ sake. Emotionally sensitive and heartwarming, ‘Balagam’ received numerous awards, one of them the Best Film award at the Filmfare Awards South. Watch it here.

18. Saaho (2019)

Prabhas, popularly known as the actor of the ‘Baahubali’ franchise, features in the lead role of this action movie. Bollywood stars such as Shraddha Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Neil Nitin Mukesh, and Chunky Pandey also appear in the film ‘Saaho’. The narrative of the movie revolves around the fictional city of Waaji City, which Roy (Jackie Shroff) controls. His arch-rival gang, controlled by Devaraj (Chunkey Pandey), never stops contemplating the moment to destroy Roy and take over the city themselves. At that time, Devaraj also begins facing losses, with considerable sums of his own money being stolen by some unknown party. This is where an undercover police officer named Ashok (Prabhas) enters the scene. His task is to end this gang war at any cost. You may watch the movie here.

17. Acharya (2022)

Directed and written by Koratala Siva, ‘Acharya’ is a Telugu action drama film. The Chiranjeevi and Ram Charan-starring is about a tribal family that has a key role in constructing the temple city of Dharmasthali, which is engulfed by the Siddhavanam forest. Alas, it is mostly in the hands of the local municipal chairman Basava, who intends to relinquish the city to mining exploitation. Thus, when a Naxal by the name of Acharya, posing as a carpenter, comes to the city and reads about Basava’s tyrannical regime, he wants to liberate them from his political control so that it can be reborn. Will he be able to accomplish his extremely ambitious dreams? You can watch the movie here and know for yourself.

16. Eagle (2024)

Telugu megastar Ravi Teja features as an underworld don turned retired hitman Sahadev Varma alias Eagle in this massy action-packed thriller helmed by Karthik Gattamneni. Though Sahadev leads a simple life as a cotton farmer now, retaining his evil side in one corner of his mind, he is on the radar screen of terrorists as well as other extremist groups around the globe. But there is more to his present undercover mission, for he aims to put an end to the illicit arms business. In the meantime, journalist Nalini, researching Sahadev’s unique cotton, begins to investigate his notoriety-filled past. Along with Ravi Teja, ‘Eagle’ has Kavya Thapar, Navdeep, Anupama Parameswaran, Vinay Rai, Srinivas Avasarala, and Madhoo playing roles in it. You may watch the film here.

15. Om Bheem Bush (2024)

‘Om Bheem Bush’ is a horror-comedy film about friends Krish, Vinay, and Madhav, whose unconventional passion for science leads them to the village of Bhairavapuram. There, they are dared by a village occultist to demonstrate their abilities as scientists to uncover a treasure buried within the Sampangi palace. But upon entering the palace, they find the ghost of noblewoman Sampangi, who was bewitched to guard the palace’s secret. Will the trio manage to conquer the odds and prove themselves correct? Directed by Sree Harsha Konuganti, ‘Om Bheem Bush’ is a bingewatch-worthy drama featuring Sree Vishnu, Priyadarshi, Rahul Ramakrishna, Preity Mukundhan, Ayesha Khan, and Racha Ravi. You can watch the movie here.

14. Kuberaa (2025)

Sekhar Kammula’s crime drama ‘Kuberaa’ highlights humanity’s pathetic greed for money and power. Discharged investigator Deepak Tej employs Deva, among others, for a scheme supported by power-grasping Mumbai businessman Neeraj Mitra, converting a just-discovered oil reserve into a gold pot. But Deva turns against his employers after he learns of the ultimate fate in store for him after the job, leaving Deepak and Neeraj in a mad scramble. As both look for Deva, Deepak desires to rescue him, whereas Neeraj desires to kill him so that he does not spill beans regarding the confidential plan. Starring Nagarjuna Akkineni in the role of Deepak Tej, Dhanush as Deva, and Jim Sarbh as Neeraj Mitra, ‘Kuberaa’ is an epic-scale film driven by an engaging plot and intense performances. You can watch it here.

13. The Ghazi Attack (2017)

This Sankalp Reddy directorial, also known as ‘Ghazi,’ is a war film based on the mysterious disappearance of the Pakistani submarine PNS Ghazi during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. While the Indian Navy took the credit for destroying it, the Pakistani military stated that it sank due to an explosion within the submarine or a detonation of mines that it was laying. The movie, albeit, presents the Indian Navy’s perspective of events and illustrates the way the Indian submarine INS Karanj (S21) spent 18 days underwater to intercept PNS Ghazi and sink it. A testament of the gallantry of all the Indian hearts on board, ‘The Ghazi Attack’ won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu. The star cast consists of Kay Kay Menon, Taapsee Pannu, Rana Daggubati, Atul Kulkarni, and Rahul Singh. Watch the movie here.

12. Kaappaan (2019)

The star cast of this movie consists of two Telugu film industry actors- Suriya and Mohanlal. The former is the Prime Minister of India, according to the plot, and the latter assumes the role of a policeman who acts as the PM’s permanent bodyguard. The PM, Chandrakant Varma, is a sincere politician willing to do some good for the nation. While he is busy doing his job, the PM is assassinated one day by a military coup. Suriya’s Ravi Kishore is baffled by the murder and is thinking about who would want to murder an honest human being like that. He promises he will find out about this somehow. Both the actors infuse their subtleties into the respective characters, and therefore, the performances become capable of transcending the script. Both halves of the movie are quite intense, and the climax does fair justice to the careful construction. You can stream ‘Kaappaan’ here.

11. Middle Class Melodies (2020)

Vinod Anantoju directs ‘Middle Class Melodies’, a comedy drama about a young middle-class individual called Raghava, who works in his father Kondal Rao’s hotel in their village. Famous for his legendary Bombay chutney, Raghava feels it is time to have his own hotel in nearby town Guntur, an idea his father objects to. How Raghava attempts to live his dream amidst navigating his complex romantic affair with a girl named Sandhya is what we learn in this innocent drama. ‘Middle Class Melodies’ features Anand Devarakonda playing Raghava, Varsha Bollamma playing Sandhya, and Goparaju Ramana playing Kondal Rao. Stream the movie here.

10. Ammu (2022)

Directed by Charukesh Sekar, this social drama is about a woman called Ammu whose aspiration for a happy married life collapses when she gets struck by her cop-husband Ravi. She hopes that he would never do it again, but this act keeps on repeating and turns into physical abuse that is driven to extremes. Caught between a rock and a hard place, Ammu decides to resist and hatches a plan to make Ravi pay. An engaging and thought-provoking watch, ‘Ammu’ features Aishwarya Lekshmi, Naveen Chandra, Bobby Simha, Raja Ravindra, and Parvathi T. You can stream the movie here.

9. Chinni (2022)

Arun Matheswaran’s ‘Chinni’ is a Telugu drama movie that narrates a tale of injustice, suffering, and retribution. The film is about Ponni (Keerthy Suresh), an obedient policewoman who had lost all when her daughter and husband died. As if what had been done to her loved ones was not bad enough, she is subjected to sexual harassment by upper-class men with no chances of having the culprits legally held to account. Though she has not been on good terms with her half-brother Sangaiyya, Ponni partners with him in hatching a revenge scheme. But opposing powerful men in a world where society itself is distorted to their needs is never an easy endeavor, and Ponni soon realizes that her road to justice will be filled with obstacles. You can watch the film here to see how she does that. Read More: Best Tamil Movies on Netflix

8. Evaru (2019)

A gripping crime thriller, ‘Evaru’ is about a woman named Sameera (Regina Cassandra), who is accused of killing a cop. Though she falls into this trouble, she doesn’t receive any assistance from her husband regarding this and therefore decides to take up the issue on her own. She receives assistance from a police officer named Vikram (Adivi Sesh), who is corrupted. As the movie goes on, we see that Sameera also has a lot of secrets to keep. The movie deals with themes of murder, desire, and sexuality, and as a whole, is quite an interesting movie to watch. The greatest thing about this movie is that there are numerous layers to the storyline, which are revealed as the story goes on. The film is loosely based on the 2016 Spanish movie ‘The Invisible Guest’ directed by Oriol Paulo. You can watch ‘Evaru’ here.

7. Dear Comrade (2019)

Starring Vijay Deverakonda, Rashmika Mandanna, and Shruti Ramachandran, ‘Dear Comrade’ is a romantic drama movie. The directorial by Bharat Kamma focuses on a student union leader named Bobby, who gets romantically involved with Lily, a state-level cricketer. Even though he loves her madly, Bobby’s bad temper is a hindrance to his romance. It is soon realized by the student union activist that if he is to combat for his love, then he is to fight not just against people who oppose him but also his temperament, which is his worst enemy. You can stream ‘Dear Comrade’ here.

6. V (2020)

A standard but high-octane cat-and-mouse chase between a serial killer and a cop where the dynamics shift in every other scene, ‘V’ is helmed by Mohana Krishna Indraganti and features Nani, Sudheer Babu, and Nivetha Thomas. What angers the cop is that the killer leaves a note for him at each crime scene, goading him, and at last, he is confronted with the challenge of either stopping a sequence of four more murders or resigning. As we watch all that the criminal is getting away with, which in thrillers is often hidden under a cover, it is a means of expressing his pride in what he does. This makes him more than a criminal, someone to be feared. You can watch the movie here.

5. Jathi Ratnalu (2021)

Directed by Anudeep Kv, ‘Jathi Ratnalu’ is a comedy-drama and it does full justice to its genre. We have three friends Srikanth, Sekhar, and Ravi who go out with their dreams and aspirations only to find themselves entangled in a risky game of politics marked by the confusion that makes this movie a laughter riot. It is absurd, yet we are more than happy to let suspension of disbelief sweep over us as we watch the three men establish friendship in their own mess but lovely way. The cast of the movie involves Naveen Polishetty, Priyadarshi Pulikonda, Rahul Ramakrishna, and Faria Abdullah. Feel free to watch the movie here.

4. Sita Ramam (2022)

Hanu Raghavapudi directed the film which features Mrunal Thakur, Dulquer Salmaan, and Rashmika Mandanna. The film takes place over two time periods; one time period has an orphaned soldier named Ram, whose sorrow of not getting any letters is replied to by people from everywhere in the world, so he begins getting plenty of letters, one of which is written by a lady named Sita and who pretends to be his wife. In the second timeline, Afreen, a young Pakistani girl, has been assigned to deliver a letter to India. How these two timelines are linked is a beautiful and poignant love story that defies time itself. You can watch the movie here.

3. Game Changer (2025)

Directed by S. Shankar, ‘Game Changer’ traces commonman Ram Nandan (Ram Charan), who bulldozes his way through government exams and employs his government-supported powers to become a crusader for truth and eradicate corruption in his state. But in his path are insurmountable challenges of criminals with criminal interests, power-seeking corrupt politicians, and skeletons from his past. Drenched in political intrigue and served with action, ‘Game Changer’ is a faithful-to-form Shankar film in sync with his earlier large-scale endeavours such as ‘Nayak: The Real Hero,’ ‘Sivaji: The Boss,’ and the ‘Indian’ duology. You may watch it here.

2. Kalki 2898 AD (2024)

Nag Ashwin’s sci-fi epic drama brings humans and gods together in a hitherto unseen way. Set in a dystopian future, the narrative, inspired by Hindu mythology, follows two plots, one from the POV of a human bounty hunter named Bhairava (Prabhas) and another from the POV of Ashwatthama (Amitabh Bachchan), a cursed god. Both of them are linked through Kalki, the 10th and last avatar of Lord Vishnu, whose coming has been awaited by the citizens of the city of Kasi, which is ruled by strong god-king Supreme Yaskin (Kamal Haasan). A visual treat with a strong multi-layered story, ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ does justice to using mythology in sci-fi. Starring Deepika Padukone and Malvika Nair, the movie set numerous box-office records and is a must-see Telugu drama on this streaming platform. You can watch it here.

1. Pushpa: The Rise – Part 1 (2021)

‘Pushpa: The Rise – Part 1’ narrates the tale of Pushpa Raj, a worker whose success in the world of red sandalwood smuggling makes him a lot of enemies like the infamous Konda Reddy, a well-known figure in the sandalwood smuggling community, Mangalam Srinu, boss, and head of syndicate, of Konda, as well as egoistic police officer Bhanwar Singh Shekawat. How Pushpa navigates through the business as he looks out for his adversaries makes for a satisfying cinematic watch. The star-studded cast features Allu Arjun, Fahadh Faasil, Sunil, and Rashmika Mandanna. You can watch the movie here. Read More: Best Telugu Movies on Netflix