The 70+ Best Movies Directed by Priyadarshan

Ranker Film
Updated October 24, 2023 58.8K views 74 items
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List of all movies directed by Priyadarshan ranked from best to worst with photos. Films directed by Priyadarshan are listed here and include movie posters and Priyadarshan movie trailers whenever possible. This is a collection of the best movies directed by Priyadarshan as voted on by film buffs. If you think the greatest Priyadarshan movie isn't as high as it should be on this list, then make sure to vote so that your opinion of what the top Priyadarshan film is can be factored into this list.

From Priyadarshan's studio films to Priyadarshan's independent films, this Priyadarshan filmography keeps tabs on all Priyadarshan movies, and lets the cream of the crop rise to the top.

Everything from Kamaal Dhamaal Malamaal to Gandeevam is included on this list.

If you’re wondering “what movies did Priyadarshan direct?” or “who is Priyadarshan?” then this list will explain how most people know this director. This list also answers questions like “what are the all-time best movies directed by Priyadarshan?” and “what's a good selection of good Priyadarshan movies?”

If you're wanting to get into Priyadarshan films, then this list is a great starting point for at least starting with the most decent Priyadarshan works.

All Priyadarshan director credits are included. This list of every movie that Priyadarshan has directed can be sorted for specific information such as what genre the Priyadarshan movie is and which actors starred in the Priyadarshan film.

You could always re-rank this list then share it on your social networks to get a count of what only your friends think about this topic. {#nodes}

Mohanlal and Hema Malini have both worked on a Priyadarshan directed movie, as have many other great actors.

Most divisive: Hera Pheri 4
Over 500 Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of The 70+ Best Movies Directed by Priyadarshan
  • Hera Pheri
    1
    Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, Sunil Shetty
    135 votes
    Hera Pheri is a 2000 Indian comedy film directed by Priyadarshan starring Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, Sunil Shetty and Tabu. The story is based on the 1989 Malayalam film Ramji Rao Speaking, which was also remade into Tamil cinema as Arangetra Velai. The film spawned a sequel, Phir Hera Pheri, released in 2006. Hera Pheri 3 will succeed Phir Hera Pheri and is in pre-production. Over the years it has become a cult classic. It was voted as the best comedy movie in Bollywood Paresh Rawal won the best comedian award in Filmfare, IIFA and Star Screen Awards.
  • Kilukkam
    2
    Mohanlal, Jagathy Sreekumar, Revathi
    106 votes
    Kilukkam is a 1991 Malayalam-language Indian musical-comedy film directed by Priyadarshan and written by Venu Nagavalli. The story revolves around Nandini, an orphan who comes to Ooty in search of her father, wherein she meets tourist guides Joji and Nishcal. It also stars Thilakan, Innocent, Ganesh Kumar, Sukumari and Sharat Saxena in pivotal roles along with Murali and Jagadish in guest roles. The music was composed by S. P. Venkatesh and the film was produced by R. Mohan under the banner of Goodknight Films. Kilukkam is loosely inspired from Roman Holiday. It won five Kerala State Film Awards, including the awards for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Editor, and Best Cinematographer. The film spawned a sequel, Kilukkam Kilukilukkam, released in 2006.
  • Thenmavin Kombath
    3
    Mohanlal, Shobana, Sreenivasan
    85 votes
    Thenmavin Kombath is a 1994 Malayalam musical drama film written and directed by Priyadarshan, produced and edited by N. Gopalakrishnan, and starring Mohanlal, Shobana, Nedumudi Venu, Kaviyoor Ponnamma, KPAC Lalitha, Sukumari, Sreenivasan, Sankaradi, and Sharat Saxena. The cinematography was by K. V. Anand, and the score was composed by S. P. Venkatesh, while Berny-Ignatius composed the songs with lyrics written by Gireesh Puthenchery. K. V. Anand and Sabu Cyril won National Film Awards for Best Cinematography and Best Production Design respectively. Music directors Berny-Ignatius received the Kerala State Film Award for Best Music. R.D. Burman was initially signed in as the music director for the film, as revealed by Burman himself in an interview to journalists in Cochin, during his visit to the city, just a few weeks before his death. But he died before he could complete the compositions of the film, and was later replaced. The film emerged as a blockbuster at the Kerala box office and became the highest grossing Malayalam film of 1994 and got a run of 250 days at the theaters. The film is among the best comedy films in the history of Malayalam cinema.
  • Chithram
    4
    Mohanlal, Sreenivasan, Nedumudi Venu
    80 votes
    Chithram is a 1988 Malayalam screwball comedy film written and directed by Priyadarshan. The film was produced by P. K. R. Pillai under the banner Shirdi Sai Creations. The film stars Mohanlal, Ranjini, Nedumudi Venu, Poornam Vishwanathan, Sreenivasan, Soman, Sukumari, Lizy, and Maniyanpilla Raju while Thikkurissy appears in a guest role. The musical songs were composed by Kannur Rajan and the background score was by Johnson. The film was a phenomenal success at the Kerala box-office when released during 1988 Christmas weekend. It broke all existing records in Malayalam cinema at the time. It had a theatrical run of more than 366 days in some centres and is said to be one of the highest grossing films in Malayalam cinema. It collected 6+ crores from major centres.
  • Thalavattam
    5
    Mohanlal, Jagathy Sreekumar, Mukesh
    77 votes
    Thalavattam is a 1986 Malayalam drama film written and directed by Priyadarshan and starring Mohanlal, M. G. Soman and Karthika. The story is very loosely based on the American novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Thalavattam was remade in Hindi as Kyon Ki in 2005 by Priyadarshan himself. The film was also remade in Tamil in 1988 by Robert-Rajasekhar as Manasukkul Mathappu with Prabu and Saranya playing the lead.
  • Bhool Bhulaiyaa
    6
    Hema Malini, Vidya Balan, Akshay Kumar
    79 votes
    Bhool Bhulaiyaa is a 2007 Indian psychological comedy horror film directed by Priyadarshan. It constitutes the official remake of the 1993 Malayalam film, Manichitrathazhu, starring Mohanlal. which was already remade into several Indian films. Bhool Bhulaiyaa features Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan, Ameesha Patel and Shiney Ahuja in pivotal roles with Paresh Rawal and Rajpal Yadav in supporting roles. The music of the film was composed by Pritam and the lyrics were written by Sameer. It received mostly positive reviews and a huge box-office success. The film is also noted for its usage of colloquial language and the ambience that of royalty very aptly portrayed. This is a psychological thriller. The disorder suffered by the protagonist, "dissociative identity disorder" is an actual mental health problem. When Akshay's character is explaining the symptoms of the illness the camera even captures one of its most famous case, that of an American female called Shirley Ardell Mason.
  • Vellanakalude Nadu
    7

    Vellanakalude Nadu

    Mohanlal, Shobana, Sreenivasan
    46 votes
    Vellanakalude Nadu is a 1988 Malayalam drama film directed by Priyadarshan, and produced by Maniyanpilla Raju. This film was a critical and commercial success. It was remade in Hindi as Khatta Meeta with Akshay Kumar in the lead role which released in 2010, but was an average grosser only.
  • Hungama
    8
    Paresh Rawal, Shakti Kapoor, Rimi Sen
    63 votes
    Hungama is a 2003 Bollywood comedy film film co-written and directed by Priyadarshan. It stars Paresh Rawal, Aftab Shivdasani, Akshay Khanna and Rimi Sen. It was an adaptation of Priyadarshan's own 1984 film Poochakkoru Mookkuthi; which itself was based on Charles Dickens' play, The Strange Gentleman.
  • Kaalapani
    9
    Mohanlal, Amrish Puri, Sreenivasan
    73 votes
    Kaalapani is a 1996 Indian epic film directed by Priyadarshan, starring Mohanlal, Prabhu Ganesan, Tabu, Nedumudi Venu, Sreenivasan, Tinnu Anand, Annu Kapoor, Alex Draper, Amrish Puri, and Vineeth. Although it is originally a Malayalam film, it was dubbed into Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. The film is about the lives of prisoners in British India who are brought to Kālā Pānī, the Cellular Jail in Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The name Kalapani is derived from the mode of imprisonment in British India. Ilaiyaraaja composed the music, the cinematography was by Santosh Sivan, and the editing by N. Gopalakrishnan. The film introduced Dolby Stereo into Malayalam cinema. It was made on a budget of 5.5 crore. Mohanlal produced the film under his studio Pranavam Arts International. The film won three National Film Awards including the awards for Best Art Direction, Best Special Effects and Best Cinematography. Along with that it won six Kerala State Film Awards. It was released in 450 theaters worldwide.
  • Akkare Akkare Akkare
    10
    Mohanlal, Sreenivasan, Mukesh
    36 votes
    Akkare Akkare Akkare is a 1990 Malayalam comedy film directed by Priyadarshan and written by Sreenivasan. This is a sequel to Pattanapravesham which in turn was a sequel to 1987 film Nadodikkattu. This time the story follows CID Dasan and CID Vijayan on an investigation for a stolen gold crown in the United States. Others in the cast include M.G. Soman, Mukesh, Maniyanpilla Raju, Parvathy, Nedumudi Venu, Sukumari, Jagadish, and K.P.A.C. Lalitha. The film was produced by G. P. Vijayakumar and distributed by Seven Arts Films. It was filmed in Houston, Texas, and the Greater Los Angeles Area, California.
  • Minnaram
    11

    Minnaram

    Mohanlal, Jagathy Sreekumar, Shobana
    57 votes
    Minnaram is a 1994 Malayalam musical film written and directed by Priyadarshan, starring Mohanlal, Shobana, Thilakan, Sankaradi, K. P. Ummer, Jagathy Sreekumar, Geetha Vijayan, Venu Nagavally, and Lalu Alex.
  • Chandralekha
    12
    Mohanlal, Anil Kapoor, Sreenivasan
    40 votes
    Chandralekha is a 1997 Malayalam film directed by Priyadarshan and produced by Fazil. This brought back after a couple of years the old successful comedy combo of Mohanlal and Sreenivasan, which was popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This film is the fourth record grosser film from Priyadarshan-Mohanlal team, after Thalavattam, Chithram, and Kilukkam The name "Chandralekha" is a combination of the names of the two heroines in the story, 'Chandra' and 'Lekha'.
  • Mithunam
    13
    Mohanlal, Jagathy Sreekumar, Sreenivasan
    64 votes
    Mithunam is a 1993 Malayalam satirical film directed by Priyadarshan, written by Sreenivasan, and starring Mohanlal and Urvashi in the lead roles. The film was produced by Mohanlal under the banner of Pranavam Arts and was distributed by Pranamam Pictures. And the music was composed by M. G. Radhakrishnan.It was released along with Suresh Gopi's Ekalavyan. The movie got positive reviews. And nowadays the movie has a big 'cult' to follow. This is Mohanlal's 200th film.
  • Vandanam
    14
    Mohanlal, Mukesh, Nedumudi Venu
    42 votes
    Vandanam is a 1989 Malayalam film directed by Priyadarshan. The film stars Mohanlal, Mukesh, Girija Shettar, Nedumudi Venu, M.G. Soman, Jagadish, Sukumari, Ganesh Kumar, Maniyanpilla Raju, and Cochin Haneefa. This was the follow-up film of Priyadarshan and producer P. K. R. Pillai after the commercially successful Chithram. The story of the film is adapted majorly from the 1987 American film Stakeout. Priyadarshan later remade it as the Telugu film Nirnayam.
  • Mazha Peyyunnu Maddalam Kottunnu
    15

    Mazha Peyyunnu Maddalam Kottunnu

    Mohanlal, Mammootty, Jagathy Sreekumar
    30 votes
    Mazha Peyyunnu Maddalam Kottunnu is a 1986 Malayalam comedy film directed by Priyadarshan. Starring Mohanlal, Mukesh, Lizy, Sreenivasan, Jagathi Sreekumar, Maniyanpilla Raju, and Kuthiravattam Pappu in the main roles. This film was a huge hit and considered as one of the best comedy films in Malayalam cinema.
  • Hulchul
    16
    Kareena Kapoor, nm2147526, Paresh Rawal
    77 votes
    Hulchul is a 2004 Hindi filmdirected by Priyadarshan. The story is adapted from the 1991 Malayalam film Godfather. The film has a huge star cast including Akshaye Khanna, Kareena Kapoor, Arshad Warsi, Sunil Shetty, Amrish Puri, Paresh Rawal, Jackie Shroff, Arbaaz Khan, Shakti Kapoor, Farha Naaz, and Laxmi. It is a satirical portrayal of the post-modern Indian woman's self-image, self-confidence, self-victimization, and self-empowerment.
  • De Dana Dan
    17

    De Dana Dan

    Katrina Kaif, Akshay Kumar, nm2147526
    59 votes
    De Dana Dan is a 2009 Indian Hindi comedy film directed by Priyadarshan. The story is a partial adaptation of Priyadarshan's own Malayalam film Vettam. The film's cast includes Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty, Katrina Kaif and Sameera Reddy in lead roles. Filming began on 1 December 2008 at Mehboob Studios in Mumbai. The film was released on 27 November 2009 and was declared as 'Above Average' at the Box Office. It has a huge star cast and all the characters run around after each other, hence the name De Dana Dan meaning "one after the other", or "helter skelter" in other words.
  • Chup Chup Ke
    18
    Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Sunil Shetty
    51 votes
    A street hustler (Shahid Kapoor), decides to fake his own death so that his family will be able to pay off his debts with the insurance money. When two fishermen find him entangled in their nets, he pretends to be a deaf-mute so that he will not accidentally give away his true identity.
  • Khatta Meetha
    19
    Trisha, Akshay Kumar, nm2147526
    32 votes
    كاتا ميثا هو فيلم هندي كوميدي صدر سنة 2010.
  • Malaamal Weekly
    20
    nm2147526, Paresh Rawal, Shakti Kapoor
    53 votes
    Malamaal Weekly is a 2006 Bollywood comedy film starring Paresh Rawal and Om Puri and written and directed by Priyadarshan. The storyline has similarities with Waking Ned Devine. The film was rated poorly by most critics in India but was a surprise hit among cinema-goers. The film was remade in Telugu as Bhagyalakshmi Bumper Draw, in Kannada as Dakota Picture and in Malayalam as "Aamayum Muyalum".
  • Boeing Boeing
    21
    Mohanlal, Jagathy Sreekumar, Mukesh
    37 votes
    Boeing Boeing is a 1985 classic comedy Malayalam film written and directed by Priyadarshan. The story follows Shyam who tries dating more than one air hostess with the help of his friend Anilkumar. The film is one of the best comedy films in Malayalam and one of the most successful films of Priyadarshan-Mohanlal-Mukesh combination. It is a remake of the 1965 Hollywood Movie with the same name. The film was a blockbuster and remains one of the cult classic comedy drama in Malayalam cinema. It was remade in Telugu as Chilakkottudu. Priyadarshan remade the film in Hindi as Garam Masala.
  • Bhagam Bhag
    22
    Akshay Kumar, Lara Dutta, nm2147526
    50 votes
    Bhagam Bhag is a 2006 Bollywood comedy mystery film, starring Akshay Kumar and Govinda. It is the first time the two are in a film together. The movie also stars Paresh Rawal, Lara Dutta and Jackie Shroff. It is directed by Priyadarshan. Shooting took place in Oxford, United Kingdom in July–August 2006, filming at several University of Oxford landmarks. It released on 22 December 2006. The story borrows certain sub-plots from Siddique-Lal's 1995 Malayalam film Mannar Mathai Speaking as well as 1958 Hollywood classic Vertigo and was remade in Telugu as Brahmanandam Drama Company in 2008.
  • Garam Masala
    23
    Akshay Kumar, nm2147526, John Abraham
    47 votes
    Garam Masala is a 2005 Bollywood comedy film directed by Priyadarshan, it is a partial remake of Priyadarshan's own Malayalam movie Boeing Boeing. The film stars Akshay Kumar, John Abraham, Rimi Sen, Neha Dhupia, Paresh Rawal and Rajpal Yadav. It was released on Diwali of 2005. Akshay Kumar received the Best Actor in a Comic Role award for his performance at the Filmfare Awards.
  • Adwaytham
    24

    Adwaytham

    Mohanlal, Jayaram, Revathi
    25 votes
    Adwaytham is a 1992 Malayalam political crime thriller film directed by Priyadarshan and written by T. Damodaran. It stars Mohanlal, Jayaram, Revathi, Innocent, and M. G. Soman in the main roles. The soundtrack for the film was composed by M. G. Radhakrishnan and the background score was done by Johnson.
  • Abhimanyu
    25
    Mohanlal, Cochin Haneefa, Sukumari
    38 votes
    Abhimanyu is a Malayalam romantic action-thriller film released in 1991 directed by Priyadarshan featuring Mohanlal, Geetha, and Shankar in the lead roles. The plot revolved around Mumbai underworld and the transformation of an innocent guy into a criminal, who later becomes a don in the city. The tagline of the movie is Crime Never Pays. Its Tamil dubbed version Arasan was a success. The movie was later dubbed and released in Hindi with the title Satyaghath - Crime Never Pays. The movie was noted for its epic screenplay, direction and background score. It became a cult classic. Art direction was by Thotta Tharani.
  • Aryan
    26
    Mohanlal, Shobana, Sukumari
    40 votes
    Aryan is a 1988 Indian Malayalam film action drama film directed by Priyadarshan, starring Mohanlal, Ramya Krishnan, Sharat Saxena, Shobana, Sreenivasan, Gavin Packard, M. G. Soman and Goga Kapoor. Aryan tells the tale of underworld battle and emotional family bonds.
  • Aram + Aram = Kinnaram
    27
    Mohanlal, Jagathy Sreekumar, Sreenivasan
    27 votes
    Aram + Aram = Kinnaram is a Malayalam slapstick comedy film released in 1985. Directed by Priyadarshan, with Mohanlal, Shankar, Sreenivasan, Lizy and Puja Saxena in leading roles, this film was a huge hit at the box office.
  • Mukunthetta Sumitra Vilikkunnu
    28

    Mukunthetta Sumitra Vilikkunnu

    Mohanlal, Jagathy Sreekumar, Sreenivasan
    37 votes
    Mukunthetta Sumitra Vilikkunnu is a Malayalam film directed by Priyadarshan, starring Mohanlal, Sreenivasan, and Ranjini.It is a remake of the 1983 Hindi film Katha is a film by Sai Paranjpye featuring Naseeruddin Shah, Farooq Shaikh and Deepti Naval in the main roles. The film is about the daily lives of people living in a Mumbai chawl.[2]
  • Kanchivaram
    29
    Prakash Raj, Sriya Reddy, Geetha Vijayan
    20 votes
    Kanchivaram is a 2008 National award winning Tamil drama film directed by Priyadarshan. The film stars Prakash Raj and Shriya Reddy in the lead roles and has the musical score by M. G. Sreekumar, cinematography by Thiru, editing by Arun Kumar, and art direction by Sabu Cyril.The audiography was done by M. R. Rajakrishnan. The movie depicts the pitiable state of the silk weavers in the town of Kanchipuram as they were unorganized and marginalized to live a perpetual ‘hand-to-mouth’ existence. The movie depicts their struggles and ends with a comment about the cooperative movement that emerged to take care of the interests of the workers. The film opened at the 33rd Toronto International Film Festival on 12 September 2008. It was also shown at the Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival in Pittsburgh. The film eventually went on to receive Best Film and Best Actor for Prakash Raj at the 55th National Film Awards.Priyadarshan won the zenith Asia award for best director for this film. The story is set in the silk weavers' town of Kanchipuram, in post-independence India, though the film was shot mainly in Mysore.
  • Dhol
    30
    nm2147526, Om Puri, Rajpal Yadav
    41 votes
    Dhol is a 2007 Bollywood comedy film directed by Priyadarshan, and produced under the Percept Picture Company. The film stars Sharman Joshi, Tusshar Kapoor, Kunal Khemu, Rajpal Yadav, Arbaaz Khan and Tanushree Dutta in lead roles. The story borrows subplots from 1990 Malayalam film In Harihar Nagar written by Siddique-Lal. The film released on 21 September 2007, and received mixed response from critics as well as public upon release, however it was a moderate box office success.