2025 has been the year of pushing creative boundaries and experimenting with offbeat and risky concepts. From Bollywood to Tollywood and Mollywood, filmmakers
across languages united with the sole purpose of entertaining and drawing an audience to cinema halls. Bollywood superstars had their ways to be connected with the audience; South stars also garnered attention in the Hindi market. Either through dubbed versions or compelling Bollywood stories, these five names popped up instantly. Blurring language barriers, they proved cinema is all about good stories, relatable performances and honest storytelling. As we end 2025 on a cinematic note, let’s meet the South actors who ruled Bollywood with content-driven scripts, performance-oriented roles and determination to push the envelope and open new creative doors. Rashmika Mandanna’s popularity and passion to try something new every time resulted in good box office numbers. With multiple releases in 2025, she dominated Bollywood and Tollywood. On the other hand, Rishab Shetty became an overnight sensation once again with his dream project Kantara: Chapter 1. Kalyani Priyadarshan, Dhanush and Rukmini Vasanth also had their shares of box office successes and critical acclaim. Here’s how!
Rashmika Mandanna
Rashmika Mandanna translated her ‘National Crush’ title into box office numbers in 2025. Breaking stereotypical norms set for female leads across industries, the 29-year-old wore many masks this year to entertain the audience. She started the year with Chhaava, which still holds the top position in the list of Top 5 movies of 2025. Rashmika’s second Hindi film of 2025, Sikandar, did fairly good business. Besides Hindi, Mandanna also featured in Tamil and Telugu films like Kuberaa and The Girlfriend. They got her critical and commercial acclaim. Thamma, a horror-comedy with Ayushmann Khurrana, proved her versatility as an actor. Up next, she has signed Cocktail 2 with Kriti Sanon and Shahid Kapoor, while headlining the Telugu thriller Mysaa.
Rishab Shetty
Rishab Shetty takes his time to make films. Kantara: Chapter 1 showcased his dedication towards filmmaking and passion to celebrate his cultural roots. Besides Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam, the mythological drama released in Hindi and the version was among the highest contributors to its lifetime collection at the box office. Rishab once again became a phenomenon in the Hindi market. The Hindi version of the Kantara: Chapter 1 reportedly collected around Rs 100 crore whereas the India lifetime collection is said to be over Rs 250 crore. It is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video in Hindi as well as other languages.
Kalyani Priyadarshan
Kalyani Priyadarshan gave Indian cinema a home-grown Malayalam vampire saga, Lokah Chapter One: Chandra. The Dulquer Salmaan-produced superhero fictional film went on to become one of Mollywood’s highest-grossing titles of 2025. Lokah released in Malayalam first. After its roaring box office success and critical acclaim in Kerala, it released in Hindi for a brief period. The film is currently streaming on JioHotstar in all languages. At the box office, Lokah earned Rs 300 crores worldwide. For the unversed, Kalyani is Bollywood filmmaker Priyadarshan’s daughter. Now, all eyes are on her Hindi debut.
Dhanush
While fans haven’t forgotten Kundan yet, Dhanush gave them another fictional lover boy to obsess over. In Tere Ishk Mein, the actor played Shankar and his love story with Kriti Sanon’s Mukti found the audience’s support. His portrayal of a grey-shaded character became the talk of the town. Tere Ishk Mein became a success story and minted over Rs 100 crore in its lifetime. The film reunited him with Aanand L Rai after Raanjhanaa and Atrangi Re. This year, Dhanush also had Kuberaa with Nagarjuna and Rashmika Mandanna. The Sekhar Kammula directorial was also a Rs 100 crore-plus grossing movie.
Rukmini Vasanth
A femme fatale in a pan-India film is an exciting idea, right? When this matches Rishab Shetty's larger-than-life Kantara: Chapter 1 world, it gets even better. Rukmini Vasanth, known for critically acclaimed Kannada films like Sapta Sagaradaache Ello - Side A and Side B, played a deliciously evil role in the mythological drama, stealing the spotlight for the right reasons. She gave an edge to the portrayal of Kanakavathi, a princess, making it an unassuming character that changes shades in the last hour. Rukmini did surprise the audience with a grey-shaded role. She became a sensation among cinema buffs, even in the Hindi market.
We can’t wait to see what these star performers have to offer in 2026! Until then, stay tuned for more interesting updates straight from the world of cinema.
