Movies like Kadhal Kavithai (1998)
The best movies like Kadhal Kavithai (1998) are Here (2024), A Question of Faith (2017) and Blue Chips (1994). If Kadhal Kavithai 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
- NewestEleanor the Great (2025)Released 2025
- In TamilPadayappa (1999)Also in Tamil
Here (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 thisA Question of Faith (2017)
When Tragedy Strikes three Families, their Destiny forces them on a coverging path and mercy as the challenges of their fate could also resurrect their beliefs
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlue Chips (1994)
Pete Bell, a college basketball coach is under a lot of pressure. His team isn't winning and he cannot attract new players. The stars of the future are secretly being paid by boosters. This practice is forbidden in the college game, but Pete is desperate and has pressures from all around.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPadayappa (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 Last Bus (2021)
Widower Tom, on the recent passing of his wife Mary, uses his free bus pass to travel the length of Britain from John O'Groats in Caithness to Land's End in Cornwall, their shared birthplace, using only local buses. It's an incident-fuelled nostalgia trip and his encounters with local people make him a media phenomenon. Tom is totally unaware and to his surprise on arrival at Land’s End he’s greeted as a celebrity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHamlet (1996)
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, returns home to find his father murdered and his mother now marrying the murderer... his uncle. Meanwhile, war is brewing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisAll Together Now (2020)
An optimistic, talented teen clings to a huge secret: she's homeless and living on a school bus. When tragedy strikes, can she learn to accept a helping hand?
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 thisBobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004)
The story of golf icon and legend, Bobby Jones, who retired from competition at the tender age of 28.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBattleground (1949)
Members of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division are fighting for their country amidst the rugged terrain of Bastogne, Belgium, in December 1944. Holley and his American compatriots have already seen one of their own, Roderigues, perish under enemy fire. The men try to rebuff another series of Nazi attacks, but what they really need is a change in the weather. Without clear skies, they'll never get the air support they need.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHungry Hearts (2015)
The relationship of a couple who meet by chance in New York City is put to the test when they encounter a life or death circumstance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIce Castles (2010)
Young, beautiful, talented Alexis Winston comes from nowhere to become a figure skating superstar. But her rise to stardom isn’t easy. She has to push herself, reinvent herself, and most painfully of all, leave her hometown boyfriend behind. When a tragic fall leaves her blind, she needs someone to believe in her, to love her; someone to convince her she has the strength to skate and dream again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Christmas Shoes (2002)
Two separate stories mesh - in the first, a young music teacher, Maggie Andrews, begins dying of a heart condition and her son Nathan tries to get a pair of Christmas shoes for her before she dies. In the second, lawyer Robert Layton and his wife Kate are slowly drifting apart and the matter comes to a head during Christmas when Kate takes over for Maggie for the school choir.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOthello (1951)
Manipulated by his jealous ensign Iago, the Moorish general Othello is driven to believe that his new wife Desdemona is unfaithful, setting in motion a chain of deception, jealousy, and violence that leads to tragedy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSeeds of Yesterday (2015)
The Sheffield family reveal and go through some home truths as their middle child inherits the Foxworth mansion. The family's ghosts looming over, and more tragedies are in store as the curse lives on.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWon't Back Down (2012)
Jamie Fitzpatrick and Nona Alberts are two women from opposites sides of the social and economic track, but they have one thing in common: a mission to fix their community's broken school and ensure a bright future for their children. The two women refuse to let any obstacles stand in their way as they battle a bureaucracy that's hopelessly mired in traditional thinking, and they seek to re-energize a faculty that has lost its passion for teaching.
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 thisThe Last Rifleman (2023)
A WWII veteran escapes his care home in Northern Ireland and embarks on an arduous but inspirational journey to France to attend the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, finding the courage to face the ghosts of his past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
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 · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSubhalekha (1982)
Sujatha, a lecturer, stands up against the dowry system when a rich man comes to her house with a marriage proposal. But she doesn't have the support of her family and her actions have serious consequences.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Tingu Rangadu (1982)
Tingu Rangadu is action drama based movie in which, Chiranjeevi is a carefree guy who lives with his grandmother (nirmalamma) and his cousin. One day he escapes from his house and landsup in a city. He gets into RamchandraRao (Jaggayya)’s house claiming to be his son, through his extra-marital relationship.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Bhoothakkannadi (1997)
Vidyadharan, a clocksmith, is a widower and lives for his only daughter. However, his life takes a turn for the worse when he kills a thug suspecting him for murdering a village girl.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Mukthi (1988)
Haridas is a district collector who tries to help people. However, he faces several challenges due to a rift between him and his brother who joins a corrupt political party.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Ponthan Mada (1994)
Set in 1940s,Ponthan Mada movie is about the irrational bonding of the low-caste Ponthan Mada with his colonial landlord Sheema Thampuran, who was expelled to British India from England during his youth for supporting the Irish Republican Army. Crossing the class boundaries, the two communicate through Thampuran's window, with Mada hanging from a palm tree.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Ival Droupadi (2014)
Ival Droupadi movie tells the story of Ajitha (Vani Viswanath) whose sister Anitha is brutally raped by a three member gang including a minister, a Police Commissioner and a rich businessman. (Anitha is in love with Sudhi (Shiju) who is a mimicry artist and their neighbour). As can be presumed, Anitha (Sujitha) commits suicide. The only witness to the brutal crime Raavunni (Mala Aravindhan) is murdered by the three-member gang. Ajitha, along with her father, tries to seek the help of the police, but to no avail. When she decides to take matters into her hands and seek vengeance for her sister`s death in her own way, her father, for the sake of her safety, dubs her a lunatic and manages to send her to a lunatic asylum.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Choodalani Vundi (1998)
Ramakrishna arrives in Kolkata and takes up residence in Padmavathi's housing colony. While at first he seems happy and easy-going, soon his real reason for returning to Kolkata is revealed. He wants revenge!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Ooru Vittu Ooru Vanthu (1990)
Ooru Vittu ooru Vanthu is a 1990 Tamil film directed by Gangai Amaran. The film stars Ramarajan, Gouthami, Goundamani and Sangili Murugan in lead roles.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Thangamana Raasa (1989)
Chinnakaruppan goes to jail after accidentally killing his brother for cheating him. His son, Rasa, tries to make peace with his cousin who holds vengeance against his family for murdering his father.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Malabar (2018)
An undocumented mother is unable to turn to the authorities for help when her son goes missing, so she sets off on a treacherous path to find him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Kadhal Kavithai and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Kadhal Kavithai?
The closest matches to Kadhal Kavithai are Here (2024), A Question of Faith (2017) and Blue Chips (1994). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Kadhal Kavithai?
Start with Here (2024), the closest match to Kadhal Kavithai.
What is the highest-rated movie like Kadhal Kavithai?
Inside I'm Dancing (2004), rated 7.4/10 by 243 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Kadhal Kavithai?
Eleanor the Great (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Tamil movies like Kadhal Kavithai?
Yes: Padayappa (1999), Kaala (2018) and Ooru Vittu Ooru Vanthu (1990).
How are movies similar to Kadhal Kavithai chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Kadhal Kavithai, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.