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THE award-winning Indian Film produced by Datuk Vinod Sekhar through his Petra Studios and its subsidiary Madras Stories - Kinaru has topped the Times of India's top rated Tamil movies of 2025.
The movie about the never-ending passion of four children is produced by Petra Studios and Madras Stories (a unit of Petra Films) and begins with Pethappa, Mani, Saibol, and Salidappa, playing in a well.
They are lost in the joy of the moment, yet the background score and the slow, deliberate pacing hint at something ominous and right on cue, the kids are beaten for using the well.
At first, it’s quite jarring that the scene is treated lightly, which is followed by an energetic song. It makes us wonder whether the director is downplaying the seriousness of the situation.
But as similar sequences repeat, we begin to understand that this lightness reflects how such incidents have become an everyday reality for the children. This also becomes the driving factor for the kids to dig up a well of their own.
Kinaru is a tale of desires that transcends generations and wears its emotions on its sleeves.
Coming in at second spot is Kaantha, where director Selvamani Selvaraj constructs what amounts to a Shakespearean tragedy, where ego, ambition, and betrayal play out against the backdrop of a troubled production.
The setup is deceptively simple. KT Mahadevan (Dulquer Salmaan), a star who's outgrown his mentor's shadow, arrives to reshape a project called Shaantha into something that serves his image.
At third spot is Thalaivan Thalaivii - one of the very few Tamil films that dig into the life after marriage, something after the beginning of the seemingly 'happily ever after.'
Other Tamil movies in the top 30 list include Paranthu Po, Dragon, Sirai, Angammal, Bison Kaalamaadan, Kumaara Sambavam and Bomb. - January 5, 2026
