Movies like Pudhiya Vaanam (1988)
The best movies like Pudhiya Vaanam (1988) are Padayappa (1999), DSP (2022) and Asuran (2019). If Pudhiya Vaanam hooked you with its drama and action, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Fugitive (1993)7.5/10 from 5,069 votes
- NewestOscar Shaw (2026)Released 2026
- 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 & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDSP (2022)
A flower seller's son ends up in a tussle with a ruthless rowdy in Dindigul, forcing him to become a policeman and fight the odds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAsuran (2019)
A family from the underprivileged class is on the run after the teenaged son kills a rich man from the upper caste. Can the pacifist father be able to save his hot-blooded son?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSoorarai Pottru (2020)
Nedumaaran Rajangam "Maara" sets out to make the common man fly and in the process takes on the world's most capital intensive industry and several enemies who stand in his way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKodi (2016)
A young politician finds himself in a position where he has to contest against his girlfriend, who is ambitious. Circumstances force his look-alike twin to also get involved in this political battle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDarbar (2020)
Aaditya, the commissioner of Mumbai Police, sets out to catch Ajay, a drug peddler. However, he uncovers a deeper controversy linked to an international drug lord and must mete out justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisViswasam (2019)
A village ruffian, who settles disputes in his native, takes on a big shot when he tries to sort out the rough patch in his marriage after several years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKarnan (2021)
Karnan, an angry young man, fights for the rights of his oppressed people. Can he save them from those who wield power and weapons?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAadukalam (2011)
Pettaikaaran is famous in his town for an impeccable track record of successes in rooster fights. When one of his aides, Karuppu, goes against his word in a fight, it leads to an enmity between them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTheri (2016)
When an honest cop, Vijay Kumar's family is ruthlessly slaughtered by a politician and his aides, he decides to change his identity and commits his life to bring his daughter up in a serene atmosphere. But some freak events end up compromising his identity and what he does to save his daughter and avenge the death of his family unfurls as Theri.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Quiller Memorandum (1966)
After two British Secret Intelligence Service agents are murdered at the hands of a cryptic neo-Nazi group known as Phoenix, the suave agent Quiller is sent to Berlin to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisYennai Arindhaal (2015)
Sathyadev, who is on a career break, is forced to put on his cop shoes ones again to save Thenmozhi, a young woman who is the target of a criminal organ harvesting group, led by a ghost from his past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrue Grit (1969)
The murder of her father sends a teenage tomboy on a mission of 'justice', which involves avenging her father's death. She recruits a tough old marshal, 'Rooster' Cogburn because he has 'true grit', and a reputation of getting the job done.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIndemnity (2022)
An ex-fireman with PTSD goes on the run when accused of a crime he doesn't even remember committing, leading him down a rabbit hole of conspiracy to the highest degree.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Blue Lamp (1950)
P.C. George Dixon is a long-serving traditional copper who is due to retire shortly. He takes a new recruit under his aegis and introduces him to the easy-going night beat. Dixon is a classic ordinary hero but also anachronistic, unprepared and unable to answer the violence of the 1950s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOscar Shaw (2026)
After retiring from the police force, a relentless detective haunted by the tragic loss of his closest friend sets out on a perilous quest for vengeance, seeking redemption and fighting to restore justice to the streets he once swore to protect.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPor Thozhil (2023)
Loganathan, a senior cop is asked to mentor Prakash, an academically bright but faint-hearted rookie and this unlikely duo team up to investigate a series of murder cases, and realize all of them are interlinked and that a psychopath serial killer is on the run.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLittle Lord Fauntleroy (1980)
Young Cedric Errol and his widowed mother live in genteel poverty in 1880s Brooklyn after the death of his father. Cedric's grandfather, the Earl of Dorincourt, has long ago disowned his son for marrying an American. But after the death of the Earl's remaining son, he decides to accept Cedric as his heir.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhere the Red Fern Grows (1974)
Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for two years to achieve his dream of buying two red-bone coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in life as he faces overwhelming challenges in adventure and tragedy roaming the river bottoms of Cherokee country with his dogs, Old Dan and Little Ann.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBen-Hur (2016)
A falsely accused nobleman survives years of slavery to take vengeance on his best friend who betrayed him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Fugitive (1993)
Wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife and sentenced to death, Richard Kimble escapes from the law in an attempt to find the real killer and clear his name.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShall We Dance? (2004)
A bored estate lawyer spots a beautiful woman in the window of a ballroom dance studio. He secretly starts taking dancing lessons to be near her, and then over time discovers how much he loves dancing. His wife, meanwhile, has hired a private detective to find out why he has started coming home late smelling of perfume.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Girl Called Rosemarie (1996)
Katja Flint, Hannelore Elsner and Heiner Lauterbach star in this German film about a woman who climbs the social ladder by sleeping with those she encounters on her way to the top. When she's discovered dead in her apartment in 1957, the police try to piece together the clues to find out who murdered her … but to no avail.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Emil and the Detectives (1964)
When Emil travels by bus to Berlin to visit his family, his money is stolen by a crook who specializes in digging tunnels. While following the thief, Emil runs into Gustav, a young boy who gathers up all his friends to help Emil find the money. However, they get into more trouble than they bargained for when Emil's pickpocket turns out to be mixed up with a couple of notorious bank robbers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
The Blue Angel (1959)
Remake of Josef von Sternberg's 1930 classic.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Three Men and a Baby (TBA)
Remake of the 1987 film that put three bachelors in charge of a baby left by the girlfriend of one of them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Girls in Uniform (1958)
A new student, Manuela, enters a strict girls' boarding school after her mother’s death, where she finds comfort in a kind teacher, stirring complex emotions within her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe In-Laws (2003)
Right before his daughter's wedding, a mild-mannered foot doctor discovers that his new in-laws are international smugglers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
SnoozefestMovies like thisInitial D Legend 1: Awakening (2014)
Koichiro of the Akina Speedstars witnesses a mysterious driver outmaneuver rival Keisuke of the Akagi RedSuns. The race, he later discovers, was won by none other than his own co-worker, Takumi. What happens next is the stuff of street racing legend!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like this
Like Pudhiya Vaanam and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Pudhiya Vaanam?
The closest matches to Pudhiya Vaanam are Padayappa (1999), DSP (2022) and Asuran (2019). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Pudhiya Vaanam?
Start with Padayappa (1999), the closest match to Pudhiya Vaanam.
What is the highest-rated movie like Pudhiya Vaanam?
The Fugitive (1993), rated 7.5/10 by 5,069 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Pudhiya Vaanam?
Oscar Shaw (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Tamil movies like Pudhiya Vaanam?
Yes: Padayappa (1999), DSP (2022) and Asuran (2019).
How are movies similar to Pudhiya Vaanam chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Pudhiya Vaanam, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.