'Thani Oruvan' to 'Maya' – Here are the FIVE unexpected blockbuster hits from Tamil cinema

Every week, several films release in Tamil film industry, but only a few attract the audience. Sometimes, the most highly anticipated films turn out to be the biggest duds while those films which were not even noticed earlier, become huge hits in the industry. So, here we are, looking at five films that rocked the Tamil box office.

The story of 'Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom' revolves around a groom who loses his memory after a head injury two days before his wedding ceremony and regains memory after the wedding. Vijay Sethupathi and Gayathri played the lead roles in the film, which was directed by Balaji Tharaneetharan. The scene of Vijay Sethupathi facing Gayathri at the wedding stage is the most-watched video on the internet and the dialogue of Vijay Sethupathi (Paaa) is a famous one among the audience. This film is one of Vijay Sethupathi's works which he did and succeeded at early in his career.

The 2015 released film 'Thani Oruvan' stars Jayam Ravi and Nayanthara in the lead roles. The film, which was directed by Jayam Ravi's elder brother Mohan Raja had received highly positive reviews from the critics, and the film produced by AGS Entertainment was the most-profitable venture for the makers. The film made the actor Jayam Ravi into a top actor in the industry and brought credibility to the name of director Mohan Raja, who had been remaking movies till 'Thani Oruvan'. Not only for the lead actor and the director, but the film was also a comeback for the antagonist Aravind Swamy.

Arulnithi, who had been choosing different types of genres in films, opted to act in the horror-thriller directed by Ajay Gnanmuthu. The film, which was made on a budget of close to Rs 2 crore, earned almost Rs 26 crore at the box office and ended up being the highest-grossing movie of the star. Ajay Gnanmuthu is currently working with Chiyaan Vikram for 'Cobra', which is one of the highly anticipated films of the film year.

Nayanthara, one of the top actresses in Tamil cinema, signed up for this horror drama 'Maya', which was directed by Ashwin Saravanan. This film had also marked the 50th film in her career, and she played a dual role in the film. The horror-thriller is one of the best critically acclaimed horror films in the Tamil film industry. The film produced by Potential Studios was one of the highest-grossing Tamil films of the year 2015, and it was later dubbed in Telugu as 'Mayuri' and remade in Kannada as 'Akae'.

The psychological thriller features Vishnu Vishal in the lead role, and he played the role of a police officer, who sacrificed his dream of becoming a filmmaker. Vishnu Vishal's investigation on finding the psycho serial killer was well accepted by the audience, and the film got the attention of other film industries as well. The film was then remade in Telugu as 'Rakshasudu', and it starred Bellamkonda Sreenivas in the lead role. 'Ratsasan' was ranked at #2 in the IMDb rating of Top Indian Movies of the year 2018.