Movies like Samay Ki Dhaara (1986)
The best movies like Samay Ki Dhaara (1986) are Bastard Out of Carolina (1996), What Maisie Knew (2013) and A Dry White Season (1989). If Samay Ki Dhaara hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedWhat Maisie Knew (2013)7.1/10 from 466 votes
- NewestHomebound (2025)Released 2025
- In HindiRaajneeti (2010)Also in Hindi
Bastard Out of Carolina (1996)
A poor, struggling South Carolinian mother and daughter face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow both closer and farther apart: Anney sees Glen as her last chance.
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 thisA Dry White Season (1989)
During the 1976 Soweto uprising, a white school teacher's life and values are threatened when he asks questions about the death of a young black boy who died in police custody.
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 thisThe Truth About Emanuel (2013)
A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRaajneeti (2010)
It is the story of a fiercely fought election campaign, where money power and corruption are the accepted norms, and where treachery and manipulation are routinely used weapons. As the personal drama of these conflict-ridden characters unfolds against this gritty backdrop, love and friendship become mere baits, and relationships get sacrificed at the altar of political alignments. The darkness that rises from their souls threatens to envelope all that they hold precious. Until eventually, in the crescendo of increasing violence, the line between good and evil blurs, making it impossible to distinguish heroes from villains. Raajneeti is the story of Indian democracy. And its ugly underside. It is about politics. And beyond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar (1992)
Sanjay, a carefree young man, experiences mental and physical transformation to compete in an inter-collegiate bicycle race after his elder brother is unable to participate due to an injury.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Safety of Objects (2002)
In a suburban landscape, the lives of several families interlace with loss, despair and personal crisis. Esther Gold has lost focus on all but caring for her comatose son, Paul, and neglects her daughter and husband. Lawyer Jim Train is devoted to his career, not his family. Helen Christianson wants to find a new spark in life, while Annette Jennings tries to rebuild hers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHardball (2001)
An aimless young man who is scalping tickets, gambling and drinking, agrees to coach a Little League team from the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago as a condition of getting a loan from a friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStrange Weather (2016)
Years after her son's suicide, a woman longs to confront both the past and a friend of his who took his business idea.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisHoly Lands (2019)
When lapsed Jew and former cardiologist Harry suddenly decides to spend his retirement as a pig farmer in Nazareth, Israel, the move deeply shocks his family and his new neighbours. Back in New York, Harry’s ex-wife Monica is trying to manage the lives of their adult children, Annabelle and David, as well as her own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 Beautiful Country (2004)
After reuniting with his mother in Ho Chi Minh City, a family tragedy causes Binh to flee from Viet Nam to America. Landing in New York, Binh begins a road trip to Texas, where his American father is said to live.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 · both drama
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 · both drama
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 · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStolen (2023)
The five-month-old baby of impoverished tribal woman Jhumpa Mahato is stolen. Two brothers, Gautam and Raman, who witness the kidnapping, try to help her and become embroiled in the complexities of the investigation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisArticle 370 (2024)
Ahead of a major constitutional decision which rendered the Article 370 of the Indian state ineffective, special agent Zooni Haksar is tasked with a secret mission to quell violence in the conflict-ridden region.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisVanya on 42nd Street (1994)
An uninterrupted rehearsal of Chekhov's 'Uncle Vanya' plays out by a company of actors. The setting: their run-down theater with an unusable stage and crumbling ceiling. The play is shown act by act with the briefest of breaks to move props or for refreshments. The lack of costumes, real props and scenery is soon forgotten.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBrotherly Love (2015)
West Philadelphia basketball star Sergio Taylor deals with the pressures of fame while his brother and sister have their own issues with ambition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStreet Dancer 3D (2020)
Two rival dance groups from India and Pakistan who are always competing against each other, join forces when it comes to competing at an international dance competition.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEmperor Shivaji (1952)
The film chronicles the ascent of Shivaji, the great Maratha warrior who fought for liberty from the erstwhile Muslim rulers in order to establish a secular Hindu kingdom.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Santosh (2024)
A government scheme sees newly widowed Santosh inherit her husband’s job as a police constable in the rural badlands of Northern India. When a low-caste girl is found raped and murdered, she is pulled into the investigation under the wing of charismatic feminist inspector Sharma.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove 86 (1986)
Laxmi Devi is a strict mother having two daughters named Leena and Isha. She wants them to get married in a prosperous and rich family with two brothers so that they can be together for life. But two orphaned boys named Omi and Vikram Doshi who are thieves by profession, fall for these two sisters. Now Laxmi Devi wants to control the fate of her daughters but can she do this?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Kal Hamara Hai (1959)
Kal Hamara Hai is a 1959 Indian Hindi film, directed by S.K. Prabhakar and produced by K. Amarnath. The film stars Madhubala, Bharat Bhushan, and Jayant in lead roles. The film has a musical score by Chitra Gupta.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Heyy Babyy (2007)
Three womanisers find a baby left at their doorstep. Chaos ensues as they try to contact their former girlfriends to determine who is the father amongst them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisChildren of War (2014)
Children of War is a movie based on the true events of the 1971 Genocide. Can we, in search of power, become animals? A genocide; neglected! The first use of rape as a weapon of war; undocumented! The lives of millions; unaccounted! The culprits; unpunished!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Xposé (2014)
This is a dramatic chain of events in the most glamorous ,swinging era of Hindi films... the 1960s. It was a decade when film stars tasted success and carried their larger than life screen image on to real life with unbridled pomp and splendour. It was during this time that two ambitious films were made... Ujwal Nirmal Sheetal and Reena Mera Naam. The latter became a runaway hit while the former was struggling at the box office.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Payback (2010)
A man decides to re-pay a good Samaritan but regrets doing so after he finds out that he is an assassin.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Samay Ki Dhaara?
The closest matches to Samay Ki Dhaara are Bastard Out of Carolina (1996), What Maisie Knew (2013) and A Dry White Season (1989). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Samay Ki Dhaara?
Start with Bastard Out of Carolina (1996), the closest match to Samay Ki Dhaara.
What is the highest-rated movie like Samay Ki Dhaara?
What Maisie Knew (2013), rated 7.1/10 by 466 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Samay Ki Dhaara?
Homebound (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Hindi movies like Samay Ki Dhaara?
Yes: Raajneeti (2010), Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar (1992) and Homebound (2025).
How are movies similar to Samay Ki Dhaara chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Samay Ki Dhaara, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.