Movies like Manu (2021)
The best movies like Manu (2021) are Like Stars on Earth (2007), Dear Zindagi (2016) and 3 Idiots (2009). If Manu hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedLike Stars on Earth (2007)8.0/10 from 1,447 votes
- NewestSpringsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere (2025)Released 2025
- In HindiLike Stars on Earth (2007)Also in Hindi
Like Stars on Earth (2007)
Ishaan Awasthi is an eight-year-old whose world is filled with wonders that no one else seems to appreciate. Colours, fish, dogs, and kites don't seem important to the adults, who are much more interested in things like homework, marks, and neatness. Ishaan cannot seem to get anything right in class; he is then sent to boarding school, where his life changes forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisDear Zindagi (2016)
Kaira, a young girl, faces problems in her relationships. She meets Dr Jehangir, who helps her resolve her issues with her parents and get a new perspective on life, which leads to her following her passion and an improvement in her love life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this3 Idiots (2009)
Rascal. Joker. Dreamer. Genius... You've never met a college student quite like "Rancho." From the moment he arrives at India's most prestigious university, Rancho's outlandish schemes turn the campus upside down—along with the lives of his two newfound best friends. Together, they make life miserable for "Virus," the school’s uptight and heartless dean. But when Rancho catches the eye of the dean's daughter, Virus sets his sights on flunking out the "3 idiots" once and for all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAshes in the Snow (2018)
The coming-of-age tale of 16-year-old Lina Vilkas who is deported to Siberia amid Stalin's reign of terror in the Baltic region during WWII. An aspiring artist, she secretly documents her harrowing journey with her drawings.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Art of Getting By (2011)
George, a lonely and fatalistic teen who's made it all the way to his senior year without ever having done a real day of work, is befriended by Sally, a popular but complicated girl who recognizes in him a kindred spirit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHomebound (2025)
Two childhood friends from a small North Indian village chase a police job that promises them the dignity they’ve long been denied. But as they inch closer to their dream, mounting desperation threatens the bond that holds them together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Am Number Four (2011)
A teenage fugitive with an incredible secret races to stay one step ahead of the mysterious forces seeking destroy him. With three dead and one on the run, the race to find the elusive Number Four begins. Outwardly normal teen John Smith never gets too comfortable in the same identity, and along with his guardian, Henri, he is constantly moving from town to town. With each passing day, John gains a stronger grasp on his extraordinary new powers, and his bond to the beings that share his fantastic fate grows stronger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFlesh and the Devil (1926)
When lifelong best friends Leo and Ulrich return home after completing their military training, Leo meets the stunning Felicitas at a railway station and is mesmerized by her beauty. A scandal follows, for which Leo is sent away. Returning home three years later, he discovers that much has changed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHere (2024)
An odyssey through time and memory, centered on a place in New Jersey where—from wilderness, and then, later, from a home—love, loss, struggle, hope and legacy play out between couples and families over generations.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSkater Girl (2021)
Prerna, a teenager growing up in rural India, comes of age when she’s introduced to the sport of skateboarding. As a result, she has to fight the odds to follow her dreams and compete in the national championship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDangerous (2021)
A reformed sociopath heads to a remote island after the death of his brother. Soon after his arrival, the island falls under siege from a deadly gang of mercenaries, and when he discovers their role in his brother’s demise, he sets out on a relentless quest for vengeance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEquilibrium (2002)
In a dystopian future, a totalitarian regime maintains peace by subduing the populace with a drug, and displays of emotion are punishable by death. A man in charge of enforcing the law rises to overthrow the system.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSpringsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere (2025)
Bruce Springsteen, a young musician on the cusp of global superstardom, struggles to reconcile the pressures of success with the ghosts of his past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTere Naam (2003)
A rowdy ex-college boy who, after a hazing session, loses his heart to first year student Nirjara, a traditional Brahmin girl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGabriel's Redemption: Part I (2023)
After leaving his prestigious post at the University of Toronto, Gabriel embarks on a new journey with Julia, and he is eager to become a father. However, Gabriel's idyllic vision is jeopardized when Julia's intensive program becomes all consuming. When Julia is granted a prestigious opportunity to deliver an academic lecture at Oxford, Gabriel challenges her about the subject of her presentation, which clashes with his own research. In Oxford, their past resurfaces, including an old nemesis determined to humiliate Julia and expose one of Gabriel's well-guarded secrets. Emotions run high, alliances are tested, and the couple must confront the shadows of their shared history in a battle for love, truth, and redemption.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisParineeta (2005)
Childhood sweethearts Lalita and Shekhar wish to get married someday. However, Shekhar's growing suspicions about Lalita coupled with his conniving father's antics threaten to tear them apart.
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 thisLady Driver (2020)
When a rebellious teen embarks on a solo summer journey to connect with her roots, she finds herself in a new world, geared up for the ride of her life, and discovers she had the drive in her all along.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRebel Without a Cause (1955)
After moving to a new town, troublemaking teen Jim Stark is supposed to have a clean slate, although being the new kid in town brings its own problems. While searching for some stability, Stark forms a bond with a disturbed classmate, Plato, and falls for local girl Judy. However, Judy is the girlfriend of neighborhood tough, Buzz. When Buzz violently confronts Jim and challenges him to a drag race, the new kid's real troubles begin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBreathe (2017)
Based on the true story of Robin, a handsome, brilliant and adventurous man whose life takes a dramatic turn when polio leaves him paralyzed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Last Matinee Show (2021)
On Friday the 13th 1997, the audiences were in a frenzy to watch a super hit movie at a full house in Satkar Theatre. Aghast a fire breaks out and engulfs the closed auditorium to vanquish more than 100 innocent lives. Years later their relatives still grieve for their loss and hope for justice.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Ghost (2019)
The story of the film follows Karan Khanna, a politician of Indian origin in the United Kingdom, who is accused of killing his wife. He tells his lawyer that a spirit committed the murder and should be tried.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Cargo (2019)
Aboard a spaceship where souls of the deceased are readied for reincarnation, a lone crew member's rigid existence is disrupted by a spry new assistant.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Made In China (2019)
A struggling Gujarati businessman ventures into the world of China where he gets a brilliant business idea that could change his life forever.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Raat Ke Andhere Mein (1987)
A group of vagabonds happen to loot a man of ethics and on their way to their hideout take asylum (forcibly) in a house owned by a pregnant woman and her husband. They unintentionally kill the woman's husband and run away. After many years the killers have become big wheels of the society and are now into vulgar display of wealth characterized by frequent high-profile parties and events. However, little do they know that a hideously deformed monster is lurking around them and in the nearby woods seeking revenge for their sins. The killers start dying mysterious deaths at the hands of the monster. Who is this monster and will the remaining ones survive?
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Charandas The Thief (1975)
Charandas, a petty thief with a sense of integrity, ends up making four vows to his teacher that ultimately wreak havoc in his life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Kaanchi (2014)
Kaanchi movie is a musical thriller with a love story. It is a story of the inner power of a woman who represents millions of suppressed youth against unjust in the country. It is also the story of an innocent rural beauty and her fight against power.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Titli (2015)
A young man in Delhi tries to break free from his controlling, criminal brothers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAbhay (1995)
A happy family moved into a village and choose a Haveli as their abode. But they are not alone, a ghost is also there.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Revolver Rani (2014)
Alka Singh, the leader of a political party, and her obsessive love for Rohan Mehra, a rising star of Bollywood.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Like Manu and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Manu?
The closest matches to Manu are Like Stars on Earth (2007), Dear Zindagi (2016) and 3 Idiots (2009). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Manu?
Start with Like Stars on Earth (2007), the closest match to Manu.
What is the highest-rated movie like Manu?
Like Stars on Earth (2007), rated 8.0/10 by 1,447 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Manu?
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Hindi movies like Manu?
Yes: Like Stars on Earth (2007), Dear Zindagi (2016) and 3 Idiots (2009).
How are movies similar to Manu chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Manu, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.