Movies like Elisai (2024)
The best movies like Elisai (2024) are Padayappa (1999), The Nest (2020) and The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972). If Elisai hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedInside I'm Dancing (2004)7.4/10 from 243 votes
- NewestGoodbye June (2025)Released 2025
- In TamilPadayappa (1999)Also in Tamil
Padayappa (1999)
Padayappa, a mechanical engineer whose father gives up his property to his foster brother, and then dies of shock soon after. Neelambari initially loves Padayappa, but plans to humiliate him after his family humiliates her father. The rest of the plot deals with Padayappa overcoming all the obstacles placed by Neelambari.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Nest (2020)
Rory is an ambitious entrepreneur who brings his American wife and kids to his native country, England, to explore new business opportunities. After abandoning the sanctuary of their safe American suburban surroundings, the family is plunged into the despair of an archaic '80s Britain and their unaffordable new life in an English manor house threatens to destroy the family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972)
Middle-aged widow Beatrice Hunsdorfer and her daughters Ruth and Matilda are struggling to survive in a society they barely understand. Beatrice dreams of opening an elegant tea room but does not have the wherewithal to achieve her lofty goal. Epileptic Ruth is a rebellious adolescent, while shy but highly intelligent and idealistic Matilda seeks solace in her pets and school projects, including one designed to show how small amounts of radium affect marigolds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMindwalk (1991)
On the French island of Mont Saint-Michel, Jack, a failed presidential candidate, Tom, a poet and Sonia, a physicist, engage in an intellectual conversation about politics, philosophy and life over the course of a single day.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTigertail (2020)
A man reflects on the lost love of his youth and his long-ago journey from Taiwan to America as he begins to reconnect with his estranged daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Road Dance (2022)
A young girl lives in the Outer Hebrides in a small village in the years just before WWI. Isolated and hard by the shore, her life takes a dramatic change when a terrible tragedy befalls her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJungleland (2020)
Stanley manages his boxer brother Lion but when a devastating loss in the ring leaves the pair in debt, an opportunity to recoup the cash leads to a series of misadventures that threaten to break the bond between them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
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 · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOmaha (2025)
A young girl and her brother are awoken by their father and loaded into the car on an early morning in 2008. As they road trip across the American West, she discovers the truth about their seemingly spontaneous journey.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHounddog (2008)
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGoodbye June (2025)
Four siblings' lives change drastically when their ailing mother takes a turn for the worse over the holiday season.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEleanor the Great (2025)
94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein tries to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKaala (2018)
Karikaalan consistently fights to keep the people of Dharavi, a slum in Mumbai, safe from the clutches of mighty politicians and the land mafia don, Hari Dhadha.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInside I'm Dancing (2004)
Michael is a 24-year-old who has cerebral palsy and long-term resident of the Carrigmore Residential Home for the Disabled, run by the formidable Eileen. His life is transformed when the maverick Rory O'Shea moves in.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhat Maisie Knew (2013)
In New York City, six-year-old Maisie is caught in the middle of a bitter custody battle between her self-absorbed parents—an aging rock singer mother and a distracted art dealer father. As both quickly marry new partners to strengthen their legal standing, Maisie is shuttled back and forth in an endless game of emotional point-scoring. Yet amid the chaos and upheaval, Maisie begins to find true comfort and affection in her new step-parents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Enforcer (2022)
A noir thriller set in Miami, the film follows an enforcer who discovers his femme fatale boss has branched out into cyber sex trafficking, putting a young runaway he’s befriended at risk. He sacrifices everything to save the young girl from the deadly organization he’s spent his life building.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Color of Friendship (2000)
Mahree Bok lives on a farm in South Africa. Her father is a policeman who cannot hide his joy when activist Steve Biko is caught by the South African authorities. Piper Dellums is the daughter of a US congressman from California and who lives in a nice home in Washington DC. When Mahree is chosen to spend a semester at the Dellums' house, she doesn't expect that her host family would be black. Nor do her hosts suspect that she is not a black South African.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDirt (2018)
In search of a lifeline for his struggling off road racing team, a man takes on a young car thief looking for a second chance, but as their worlds collide, they must struggle to forge a successful alliance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFast Girls (2012)
A street smart runner develops an intense rivalry with an equally ambitious wealthy young athlete.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Cut (2025)
A retired boxer intends to return to the ring for one last shot at the title, but first he must make the weight. Holed up in a room in Las Vegas with an unscrupulous trainer, he embarks on an intensive and illegal weight-cutting program.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisSlowrajah (2025)
A young man struggles to fit into the fast-paced world of white-collar jobs as he tries to keep up with his friends' success. While he fears falling behind, he must realize that the true race is against himself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Family Values (2025)
In this short comedy drama, a trans South Asian person visits their family for Rakhi, a Hindu religious ceremony that symbolizes the bond between brothers and sisters. Celebrating a ceremony that is so centered around gender, this non-binary character must reconcile their gender identity with their deeply rooted family values.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Queer Parivaar (2022)
When a mysterious person gatecrashes Madhav and Sufi's wedding, the couple are forced to face past secrets and reevaluate their definitions of what makes a family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Black Lake (2020)
Aarya leaves her family in the city to pursue her passion for the arts. She is gifted a red scarf, and is haunted by a Churail; a demonic and malevolent South Asian Witch.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Love Chaos Kin (2025)
An Indian immigrant mother helps her adopted twin daughters reconnect with their White birth mother and estranged Native American father, exposing raw class divides while transforming their understanding of identity and belonging.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Can't Read, Can't Write (TBA)
A young man from Toronto, struggles with connecting with his culture, as he wishes to write and read his mother tongue. When his wish gets granted, he realizes it backfires as everything he writes and reads is in his mother tongue.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
FAMISHED (TBA)
A Sri Lankan couple struggling to make ends meet have their lives upended when a yuppie Australian couple enter their small eatery and wreak havoc.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Edge (TBA)
Kinaara (Edge) tells the story of Adil, a carer to his elderly mother who has dementia. Sacrificing his own needs, he looks after her with little respite and spirals into despair.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SŪNNA (TBA)
After unexpectedly losing her hearing, a young Indian singer discovers a new sense of self through experiencing music in a transformative way.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Mater Mortis (2021)
Mater Mortis is a short narrative film that asks what the limits of family bonds are under the weight of illness. Rajan must care for his mother, now afflicted with a condition that makes her the living dead. Relations between Rajan and his father fray as tensions rise to a head in this meditation on family, disease, and the right to life or death.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Elisai?
The closest matches to Elisai are Padayappa (1999), The Nest (2020) and The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Elisai?
Start with Padayappa (1999), the closest match to Elisai.
What is the highest-rated movie like Elisai?
Inside I'm Dancing (2004), rated 7.4/10 by 243 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Elisai?
Goodbye June (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Tamil movies like Elisai?
Yes: Padayappa (1999) and Kaala (2018).
How are movies similar to Elisai chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Elisai, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.