By Hemant SharmaSouth Indian cinema has witnessed a meteoric rise in the recent years and has become successful even among the Hindi-speaking audience. Even though South Indian movies have been dubbed in Hindi in the past, the connect with the audience in other parts of the country has become solid in the past few years only. The main reason is the engaging content created by directors like Rajamouli and the exceptional talent of South Indian stars like Prabhas, Allu Arjun, Mahesh Babu and many more. However, South Indian cinema also features many talented comedians who have the skills to tickle the funny bones of the audience. They may not be the lead characters but infuse humour into the content. Let’s have a look at the ten most funny comedians in South cinema for the year 2025.
1. Srinivasa Reddy
Srinivasa Reddy is widely known for his comic roles which he delivers with perfection. He started his career in television by hosting comedy shows, prior to venturing into films. The comedian primarily works in Telugu cinema and has appeared in over 100 films. He is also a film director and made his directorial debut with a comedy film released in 2019.
Srinivasa Reddy is widely known for his performance in the 2002 Telugu movie, Idiot. His iconic Boost dialogue in this movie established him as a top comedy actor. Subsequently, he played comic characters in many successful films like Venky, Desamuduru, Darling, Solo and more.
2. Brahmanandam
Brahmanandam is a veteran actor and recognised as one of the finest comedians of Indian cinema. He primarily works in Telugu cinema with appearances in over 1000 movies for which he holds the Guinness World Record. The comedian has several awards to his credit, including Padma Shree, two Filmfare Awards and six Nandi Awards.
Brahmanandam made his film debut with the 1987 Telugu movie, Aha Na Pellanta. Some of the top movies of the comedian are Dhee, Pokiri, Khaleeja, Bommarillu, Yamaleela, Money and Hello Brother.
3. Santhanam
Santhanam is the among most popular comedians in Tamil cinema and has been dubbed ‘Comedy Superstar’ by the media. He began his career as a comedian on Star Vijay’s Lolu Sabha, prior to entering the Tamil film industry. In the year 2012, he started his own production house named Handmade Films.
Santhanam first appeared on the big screen in a supporting role in the 2004 Tamil movie, Manmadham. He has starred in many successful films, including Sachein, Polladhavan, Dhilluku Dhuddu and Dagaalty.
4. Jagathy Sreekumar
Jagathy Sreekumar is widely regarded as the best comedian in Malayalam cinema. In a long career of over 40 years, he has appeared in over 1500 Malayalam movies. Apart from being a comedian, Sreekumar is also an accomplished playback singer and director. The comedian has won five Kerala State Film Awards and a Filmfare Award South.
Jagathy Sreekumar debuted in the year 1974 with the movie Kanyakumari. His breakthrough performance came in the 1975 movie Chattambi Kalyani. Other notable films of Sreekumar are Kilukkam, Apoorvam Chillar and Mokilla Rajayathu.
5. Ali
Ali is a well known comedian in Telugu cinema with more than 1000 films to his credit. He started as a child actor in Tamil cinema before becoming a comedian in Telugu cinema. Ali is a recipient of several awards, including two Filmfare Awards South and two Nandi Awards. The comedian has developed his own unique style of comedy.
Ali became associated with the Telugu movie director SV Krishna Reddy who casted him in many of his movies in comic roles. His notable films include Rajendrudu Gajendrudu and Super.
6. Sadhu Kokila
Sadhu Kokila is among the leading comedians in Kannada cinema. He started his career as a composer before venturing into acting in mainly comic roles. Kokila has received several awards for his comic performances, including two SIIMA Awards.
Sadhu Kokila first appeared in the 1995 movie Om as a comic character. Thereafter, he starred in many other movies like O Mallige, Hello Yama, Ekangi Vaalee, Premam Poojyam, Mufti, Mr and Mrs Ramchari and more. His directorial career comprises of ten Kannada movies.
7. Raghu Babu
Raghu Babu is an accomplished Telugu comedian known for his funny expressions and comic timing which has the audience in splits. He mainly works in Telugu cinema and has established himself as a reliable choice for comic roles. Raghu Babu has starred in many popular movies, such as Super Khiladi, Lucky Bhaskar, Disco Raja, Bharat Simha Reddy, Golmaal, Raghavendra, Gemeni and more.
8. Ajay Ghosh
Ajay Ghosh is a relatively new entrant to the cinema industry but is already among the top comedians. He mainly works in Telugu cinema but has also appeared in Tamil films. Ghosh started his acting career in theatre and entered television through DD Telugu before venturing into feature films.
Ajay Ghosh debuted in films with the 2010 Telugu movie Prasthanam. The comedian has appeared in many hit movies, such as Jyothi Lakshmi, Visaranai, Rangasthalam, Pushpa: The Rise and Guntur Kaaram.
9. Vadivelu
Vadivelu is a well known comedian who relies on slapstick and puns to entertain his audience. His popular dialogues are highly favoured among content creators for making memes. The comedian mainly works in Tamil cinema, and is a recipient of two Filmfare Awards South and six Tamil Nadu State Film Awards.
Vadivelu debuted in the year 1988 with the movie En Thangai Kalyani. Some of his hit movies include Vetri Kodi Kattu, Chandramukhi, Pokkiri, Marudhamalai and Kathavarayan.
10. Chikkanna
Chikkanna is a top-rated comedian known for his ability to make the audience burst into laughter. He mainly plays comic roles in Kannada movies. Chikkanna debuted in the year 2011 with the Kannada movie Kirataka. Subsequently, he starred in many movies, such as Raja Hulli, Adyaksha, Sharpshooter, Masterpiece and more. The comedian has two SIIMA Awards to his credit.
Conclusion
South Indian movies are mainly known for death-defying action sequences, special effects and larger-than-life persona of the lead actors. However, comic characters have their own importance and infuse a dose of humour to make the movies all the more engaging.