Sometimes movies give us messages. But sometimes they give us something more practical — memes. In 2025, Tamil cinema offered not only grand heroes and revenge sagas, but also plenty of everyday laughter and some warmth. We watched characters whose lives looked a bit like ours, only louder, with guns and background music. These moments quietly slipped out of theatres and reappeared in our WhatsApp chats as stickers and forwards. Here is a collection of scenes that made us laugh, reflect, and ultimately, somehow stayed with us.
Coolie
There is blood, chaos, and a dozen story threads flying around. Deva is hunting his friend’s killer, smugglers are ready wage a war, and poor Preethi is running for her life. Yet, in the middle of all this, Preethi stops at a food stall and orders dosa. She eats in peace while danger lurks outside. The moment instantly reminds of Trisha’s kaara pori scene in Ghilli. Both remind us that food comes first, even when you are literally running from death. A girl must refuel, even if her role is to cry, run, and be rescued five minutes later.
Tourist Family
A Sri Lankan refugee family who is living under the disguise of a Malayali family in Tamil Nadu is trying their best to start things over. When their house owner, also a police officer, asks the father why they don’t celebrate Onam as it was the very same day, he freezes, thinking the lies will be caught. But in the next scene, we see the youngest member of the family, Mulli, dressed in a set-mundu, bathed, and his hair tied in the way women do after a hair wash, or as it is portrayed in the movies. He comes with sweets, wishing Happy Onam, saving their disguise, and also making us all laugh. This can be your new Happy Onam wish, if you haven’t used this already!
Idli Kadai
If you plan to gift a grinder to someone this New Year, please rethink. If they are Sivanesans from Idli Kadai, the grinder may only produce idli-shaped disappointment. The family sits together to taste this modern invention, because why not experiment, just like the film brings old ideas to 2025. After eating they say, “Etho thappu irukku…appa sutta idli maadhiri illa.” They exchange the we-have-betrayed-our-ancestors look. . And then comes the line every traditional cook will proudly hold up forever, ‘Machine-la arachal kaippakkuvam varaadhu.’
Thug Life
Expectations were high for Thug Life, with Kamal Haasan reuniting with Mani Ratnam. In the end, the expectations may have been more gripping than the film itself. We did get a solid AR Rahman album, plus Chinmayi’s surprise track. But the real wildcard was Trisha’s Sugar Baby moment. Meant to be bold and sensual, it instead slipped straight into meme territory. When she sings “Enna venum unnaku?”, audiences were busy drafting wishlists for extra chutney, more popcorn, peace of mind, or maybe even a film with fewer clichés and a little more story.
Paranthu Po
This father-son road-trip musical works its magic subtly, serving laughter and emotion every few minutes. Among its best moments is Mirchi Shiva’s dance face-off with Vijay Yesudas. While Vijay glides through the steps with elan, Shiva responds with confident chaos, much to his son’s embarrassment. The sequence doubles as an inside joke for ardent fans of the industry, cheekily recalling Shiva’s cult classic spoof dance duel in Tamizh Padam 2.0’s ‘En Nadanam’.
Devil’s Double Next Level
Here, self-awareness becomes the real hero when Gautham Vasudev Menon decides that if the Internet is going to troll him, he might as well beat them to it. The film spoofs ‘Uyirin Uyirae’ from Kaakha Kaakha, recreating the once-sacred visual of lovers running along the beach. This time, it’s GVM himself, sprinting in slow motion with Yashika Anand, parodying the iconic romance of Suriya and Jyothika. What makes the scene land harder is context.