Must watch Tamil Fantasy Movies of all time -

Fantasy is a peculiar genre and right from our childhood we have been told a lot of stories, fables and we grew up with that. Watching those stories take up a shape and take us to a different world is possible through movies. In this blog post, I wish to share a list of fantasy movies that came in Tamil and you can enjoy it wholeheartedly. The movies are ordered chronologically.

1000 Thalai Vaangi Aboorva Sinthamani (1947)

Aayiram Thalai Vaangiya Aboorva Sinthamani is a fantasy movie directed and produced by Modern Theatres fame TR Sundaram. The movie stars PS Govindan, VN Janaki, Kali N Rathnam, and S Varalakshmi. The story revolves around the princess Apoorva Sinthamani, who asks three questions to whoever comes with a proposal to marry her, if they answer it wrongly then she beheads them. How Prince Meyyazhagan tackles and wins the challenge forms the rest of the movie. You can listen to the below podcast to know more about this movie.

You can watch the full movie on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsKOAPOt70Q

Or You can watch it on SUN NXT: https://www.sunnxt.com/movie/detail/8560

Vedhala Ulagam (1948)

Vedala Ulagam is based on the play Vedhala Ulagam by Pammal Sambandha Mudaliar. This was adapted to screen by P Neelakantan and was produced and directed by AV Meiyyappa Chettiar of AVM Productions. The movie stars TR Mahalingam as Prince Rajasimhan who on a quest to marry princess Rajeevi and win the Demon World. A Must watch for wonderful songs and performances by TR Mahalingam and K Sarangapani as Dathan and interesting story. You can listen to my podcast to know more about the movie.

Paathala Bhairavi (1951)

This movie talks about the story of a gardener named Thotta Rama and how to goes on a journey to acquire power and wealth with his valour. The movie is loosely based on the Aladdin story and Kasi Majjile Kathalu. It was written by Pingali Nagendra Rao and directed by KV Reddy. This is a proper bilingual made simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil starring NT Rama Rao and SV Ranga Rao. The making was excellent for that period and it made the leads as huge stars. You can listen to my podcast in Tamil to know more about the movie.

You can watch the movie on SUN NXT: https://www.sunnxt.com/tamil-movie/detail/8238/pathala-bhairavi/

Gulebakavali (1955)

Gulebakavali narrates the story of Prince Dasan whose sole aim to get a mysterious flower from the kingdom of Bakavali to cure his father’s illness. The challenges he faces throughout his journey form the crux of the story. The movie is produced and directed by TR Ramanna and is inspired/ adapted from the 1001 Nights story collection. The movie stars MG Ramachandran along with T. R. Rajakumari, Rajasulochana, G. Varalakshmi, S. D. Subbulakshmi and E. V. Saroja in the lead roles. KA Thangavelu with JP Chandrababu plays supporting roles. It is known for its wonderful storyline and songs along with the performances.

You can watch the full movie in the below link:

Manaalane Mangayin Baakiyam(1957)

Manaalane Mangayin Baakiyam is directed by Vedantam Raghavaiah and stars Gemini Ganesan, Anjali Devi, Rajasulochana. The movie tells us the story of Prince Jayanthan who hides in the forest due to a wrong accusation. He then earns three magical objects and then meets and falls in love with a celestial being named Sundari (Anjali Devi) and what happens forms the rest of the story. Then the story takes a number of twists and turns and the interesting screenplay keeps us engaged till the end. You can watch the movie on SUN NXT in the link below:

https://www.sunnxt.com/tamil-movie/detail/8251/manalane-mangaiyin-bagiyam/

Naan Kanda Sorgam (1960)

Naan Kanda Sorgam is a fantasy comedy adapted from a Bengali movie Jamalaye Jibanta Manush. The movie directed by C. Pullaiah and stars KA Thangavelu and Sowcar Janaki. Thangavelu plays a social worker and he goes to heaven and hell due to circumstances and how the gods help him join hands with his lady love forms the crux of the story. Performances and the storyline plays a huge role in and makes the movie interesting to watch.

You can watch the movie in the following link:

Pattanathil Bhootham (1967)

It would be an unpardonable crime if I fail to mention this movie on this list. Pattanathil Bhootham is a 1967 movie directed and edited by MV Raman and written by Javar Seetharaman who also played the role of a genie in the movie. The movie was adapted from the 1963 Hollywood movie, The Brass Bottle. Watch it for wonderful performances of Nagesh, Jai Shankar and Javar Seetharaman and some wonderful screen tricks. This movie will never bore you and always will be a fun ride. You can listen more about this movie in the following podcast,

You can watch the full movie in the following link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0lIHW_Q_ng

Yamanukku Yaman (1980)

Yamanukku Yaman directed by D. Yoganand stars Sivaji Ganesan, Sripriya, VK Ramasamy and many others. This is an official remake of the Telugu film Yamagola. Sathyam(Sivaji Ganesan) is a good man and works for the welfare of the people and was killed by his enemies. He reaches Heaven and questions Lord Indra then he goes to Hell and his journey there to earth and how he avenges his enemy forms the rest of the story. Sivaji plays the dual role of Sathyam, a do-gooder and Lord Yama. Thengai Seenivasan as Chitragupta and VK Ramasamy as Aarumguam captivate us with their performances. A must watch fantasy comedy for interesting themes.

You can watch the movie on SUN NXT by following the link below:

https://www.sunnxt.com/movie/detail/8359

Athisaya Piravi (1990)

Athisaya Piravi narrates the story of Kaalaiyan(Rajnikanth) who dies before his date in earth ends and his soul is transferred to another body in the earth with the help of Vichitra Gupta. Here the fantasy elements are very little but the characters play a huge role in making this movie an enjoyable one, especially Yama, Chitra Gupta and Vichitra Gupta played by Vinu Chakravarthy, VK Ramasamy and Cho respectively. Especially Cho steals the scenes with his usual political wordplay effortlessly.

Lucky Man (1995)

Lucky Man says the story of Gopikrishna who gets hold of the book called, Brahmachuvadi of Yama dharma which says the future of the person. How he uses the book to his fortune and Yamadharma’s quest to bring the book back to his place and restore the status quo forms the crux of the story. Karthik plays the role of a man who comes to the possession of Brahmachuvadi and Goundamani and Senthil plays the role of Yama Dharma Raja and Chitragupta respectively. Goundamani’s performance as Yama is still one of the most memorable portrayals of Yama in Tamil Cinema. Watch it for witty dialogues, interesting story and great performances.

You can watch the movie in the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKrOvsxMPEo

Arai En 305-il Kadavul(2008)

This 2008 Fantasy comedy is written and directed by Chimbu Devan. The movie follows the story of two youngsters Raasu and Mokkai. They blame God for their situation in life and one day God appears before them to make us understand it is not his fault. In the meantime, they steal the galaxy box from God which makes him powerless and God starts living the life of a common man. What happens next forms the rest of the movie. This is a unique movie with various underlying themes and you can watch this movie without getting bored. Chimbu Devan known for his unique storytelling ways charms us with this gem.

Honourable Mention:

Puli (2015) – A proper fantasy film written and directed by Chimbu Devan starring Vijay, Sridevi, Sudeep, Shruthi Hassan and Hansika. The movie had its own flaws but you cannot ignore this movie if you are talking about fantasy movies in Tamil Cinema. You can also read our team’s thoughts on Puli in here.

Aayiraththil Oruvan (2010) and Indru Netru Naalai(2015) can be termed as fantasy but they actually belong to the adventure and Sci-fi genre respectively.