Movies like Badi Bahen (1993)
The best movies like Badi Bahen (1993) are Lion (2016), The River (1951) and Great Expectations (2012). If Badi Bahen hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedLion (2016)8.0/10 from 7,128 votes
- NewestStolen Girl (2025)Released 2025
- In HindiDrishyam 2 (2022)Also in Hindi
Lion (2016)
A five-year-old Indian boy gets lost on the streets of Calcutta, thousands of kilometers from home. He survives many challenges before being adopted by a couple in Australia; 25 years later, he sets out to find his lost family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe River (1951)
Director Jean Renoir’s entrancing first color feature—shot entirely on location in India—is a visual tour de force. Based on the novel by Rumer Godden, the film eloquently contrasts the growing pains of three young women with the immutability of the Bengal river around which their daily lives unfold. Enriched by Renoir’s subtle understanding and appreciation for India and its people, The River gracefully explores the fragile connections between transitory emotions and everlasting creation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGreat Expectations (2012)
Orphan Pip discovers through lawyer Mr. Jaggers that a mysterious benefactor wishes to ensure that he becomes a gentleman. Reunited with his childhood patron, Miss Havisham, and his first love, the beautiful but emotionally cold Estella, he discovers that the elderly spinster has gone mad from having been left at the altar as a young woman, and has made her charge into a warped, unfeeling heartbreaker.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBhowani Junction (1956)
Anglo-Indian Victoria Jones seeks her true identity amid the chaos of the British withdrawal from India.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMother and Child (2009)
The lives of three women have a commonality: adoption. Karen is a physical therapist who regrets that, as a teenager, she gave up her daughter for adoption. Elizabeth was an adopted child and is now a successful lawyer, but her personal life lacks warmth. Lucy and her husband have failed to conceive and now hope to adopt a baby to make their family complete.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Secret Garden (1993)
A young British girl born and reared in India loses her neglectful parents in an earthquake. She is returned to England to live at her uncle's castle. Her uncle is very distant due to the loss of his wife ten years before. Neglected once again, she begins exploring the estate and discovers a garden that has been locked and forgotten. Aided by one of the servants' boys, she begins restoring the garden, and eventually discovers some other secrets of the manor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisReturn to Me (2000)
It took a lot of persuading to get Bob, a recently widowed architect, to go on a blind date at a quirky Irish-Italian eatery. Once there, he’s instantly smitten, not with his date, but with the sharp-witted waitress. Everything seems to be going great until an unbelievable truth is revealed, one that could easily break both of their hearts for good.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Secret Garden (2020)
Mary Lennox is born in India to wealthy British parents who never wanted her. When her parents suddenly die, she is sent back to England to live with her uncle. She meets her sickly cousin, and the two children find a wondrous secret garden lost in the grounds of Misselthwaite Manor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMoxie (2021)
Inspired by her mom's rebellious past and a confident new friend, a shy 16-year-old publishes an anonymous zine calling out sexism at her school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Passage to India (1984)
Cultural mistrust and false accusations doom a friendship in British colonial India between an Indian doctor, an Englishwoman engaged to marry a city magistrate, and an English educator.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJuno (2007)
Faced with an unplanned pregnancy, sixteen year old high-schooler, Juno MacGuff, makes an unusual decision regarding her unborn child.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDrishyam 2 (2022)
7 years after the case related to Vijay Salgaonkar and his family was closed, a series of unexpected events bring truth to light that threatens to change everything for the Salgaonkars. Can Vijay save his family this time?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisChup Chup Ke (2006)
After surviving a suicide attempt in which his family and fellow villagers believe he drowned, a debt-ridden man decides to start his life afresh in another village. He pretends to be mute and starts working for a rich man where he falls in love with his mute daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Box (2020)
After losing his wife and his memory in a car accident, a single father undergoes an experimental treatment that causes him to question who he really is.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnne of Green Gables (2016)
Anne Shirley, an orphan, is fostered by farmer Matthew Cuthbert and his sister Marilla, who were expecting a boy to be sent them to help with their farm work. They accept Anne, who quickly endears herself to them and to the local villagers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSkin (2009)
Based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTo Kill a Tiger (2023)
Ranjit, a farmer in India, takes on the fight of his life when he demands justice for his 13-year-old daughter, the victim of a brutal gang rape. His decision to support his daughter is virtually unheard of, and his journey unprecedented.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStolen Girl (2025)
In 1993, Maureen’s six-year-old daughter Amina is snuck out of the country by her ex-husband, Karim. After years of unsuccessful attempts to find her, Maureen intersects with a professional retriever of internationally abducted children who promises to help her find Amina in exchange for her collaboration.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOverboard (1987)
Heiress Joanna Stayton hires carpenter Dean Proffitt to build a closet on her yacht—and refuses to pay him for the project when it's done. But after Joanna accidentally falls overboard and loses her memory, Dean sees an opportunity to get even.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRogue Agent (2022)
Conman Robert Freegard poses as an undercover MI5 agent and kidnaps countless victims amidst a high-stakes manhunt, until the woman who fell for him brings him to justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMother India (1957)
A poverty-stricken woman raises her sons through many trials and tribulations. But no matter the struggles, always sticks to her own moral code.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAazam (2023)
Aazam is a Hindi feature film, set in the underbelly of the Mumbai underworld, the story revolves around the succession battle of mafia don Nawab Khan, who is suffering from blood cancer and has only 10-15 days to live. Huh. Nawab Khan controls the syndicate of 5 partners in governing the city. Kadar - Nawab's son, is his legitimate heir in business, but on the advice of his colleague Javed, Kader plans to eliminate all his father's associates. Kadar's plan fails as other syndicate members have their own agenda for the gang war. DCP Joshi, who is trying to stop this gang war havoc, also gets caught in the conspiracy hatched by Javed. Who is the "Aazam" of this battle of defeat and victory?
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Maatr (2017)
Shattered by the brutal murder of her daughter, A distraught mother takes justice into her own hands and seeks vengeance by fighting the system.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Zubaan (2016)
A young boy wants to become a big shot but after seeing the bad things involved he instead chooses to pursue his passion that is singing, similar to his father.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Ghar Jamai (1992)
Anil is an ethical man who lives by his principles. This impresses Dwarka, a millionaire, who wants to make him his son-in-law. However, after marriage, he insists that Anil move in with his in-laws.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Kanpuriye (2019)
The story revolves around the story of three boys from the small town of Kanpur, who have big dreams, and even bigger challenges
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Naseeb Apna Apna (1986)
A domineering man marries his son to a simple village girl. But when she arrives at his house in the city, she discovers that he is already married to an attractive city woman.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Meri Pyaari Bindu (2017)
Abhimanyu Roy is stuck with writer's block until he decides to re-live the memories of his childhood sweetheart Bindu who aspires to be a successful singer and struggles to give Abhi the one thing he craves - stability.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSanam (1997)
Gaurav lives a wealthy lifestyle, gets everything he wants except the love of his parents and family. Even though he lives with his parents, they love his elder brother Narendra more. After an unfortunate incident, Gaurav joins the army to prove himself to his father, where he discovers a terrorist plot that could put his family and his country at risk.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Jadoo (1951)
Sundari is a stage dancer and singer, a flirt, quarrelsome, and generally up to no good. She meets with Havaldar Pritam, and both are attracted to each other. Circumstances force Pritam to arrest Sundari for viciously assaulting another woman, but he lets her escape, and is severely reprimanded by the Kotwal. Sundari feels sorry for him. She meets with the Kotwal and pleads with him to forgive Pritam, which he does. Pritam is grateful to Sundari for saving his career, and both continue to romance each other. What Pritam does not know that Sundari belongs to a gang of thieves, the leader of which is her long-time boyfriend, currently in prison, a notorious gangster by the name of Rahu.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Badi Bahen?
The closest matches to Badi Bahen are Lion (2016), The River (1951) and Great Expectations (2012). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Badi Bahen?
Start with Lion (2016), the closest match to Badi Bahen.
What is the highest-rated movie like Badi Bahen?
Lion (2016), rated 8.0/10 by 7,128 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Badi Bahen?
Stolen Girl (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Hindi movies like Badi Bahen?
Yes: Drishyam 2 (2022), Chup Chup Ke (2006) and Mother India (1957).
How are movies similar to Badi Bahen chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Badi Bahen, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.