Movies like Kathodu Kathoram (1985)
The best movies like Kathodu Kathoram (1985) are Trance (2020), Won't Back Down (2012) and Return (2011). If Kathodu Kathoram hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedWhere Hope Grows (2014)7.9/10 from 232 votes
- NewestOmaha (2025)Released 2025
- In MalayalamTrance (2020)Also in Malayalam
Trance (2020)
A disheartened motivational speaker gets hired by a corporate to become a preacher until his live stint on television puts him and his service under the scanner.
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 thisReturn (2011)
Back from a tour of duty, Kelli struggles to find her place in her family and the rust-belt town she no longer recognizes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisAdopt a Highway (2019)
Russ Millings has just been released from prison after serving 21 years for a 3rd strike conviction for possessing an ounce of marijuana. As he tries to adapt to a world he doesn’t recognize – including trying to learn how to use the internet – he finds an abandoned baby in a dumpster behind the fast food restaurant where he works as a dishwasher. Unsure of what to do, and caught between impulses of kindness and panic, Russ soon realizes this could be his chance at redemption.
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 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 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 thisIratta (2023)
After a cop is found dead, a policeman's investigation sparks a chilling search for the truth connected to his estranged twin and their fraught past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Boy Who Could Fly (1986)
Milly and Louis, and their recently-widowed mom, Charlene, move to a new neighborhood. Once there, they all deal with a variety of personal problems, but Milly finds a friend in Eric, her autistic next door neighbor. Eric has a fascination with flight, and as the story progresses, he exerts an enthralling force of change on all those around him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisImagine (2012)
A blind teacher breaks the rules to help a female student rediscover the pleasures of life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisPoor Cow (1967)
Joy lives a life filled with bad choices. At a young age, she marries and has a child–with an abusive thief who quickly ends up incarcerated. Left alone, she takes up with the guy's mate, another thief, who seems to give her some happiness but who also ends up locked up. She then takes up with a series of seedy types who offer nothing but momentary pleasure–if that.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisWhere Hope Grows (2014)
Calvin Campbell is a former professional baseball player sent to an early retirement due to his panic attacks at the plate. Even though he had all the talent for the big leagues, he struggles with the curveballs life has thrown him. Today, he mindlessly sleepwalks through his days and the challenge of raising his teenager daughter. His life is in a slow downward spiral when it is suddenly awakened and invigorated by the most unlikely person – Produce, a young-man with Down syndrome who works at the local grocery store.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies 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 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 · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisJimmy P. (2013)
At the end of WWII, Jimmy Picard, a Native American Blackfoot who fought in France, suffers from unexplainable symptoms and is admitted to a military hospital. When doctors suspect schizophrenia, an eccentric psychoanalyst takes up the case and starts a conversation with the veteran.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
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 thisEnte Hridayathinte Udama (2002)
Ente Hridayathinte Udama movie is about a lonely woman Uma who college teacher meets Pavitran who is a political activist. When he revolts against the practices of corruption within the party he is silenced. It is a murder ordered by the vested groups in the party.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Kaliyoonjal (1997)
Kaliyoonjal movie portrays a brother to a disturbed sister. The sister, played by Shalini, is mentally disturbed if any thing goes against her will. She is possessive of her brother and creates a havoc when she gets angry. Enter Shobhana who marries Mammootty and Dileep, who plays Shobhana's brother and marries Shalini, and problems start up in the family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Pallavur Devanarayanan (1999)
Pallavoor Devanarayanan movie is all about Devan (Mammootty) who is a talented drummer. People flock to the festivals just to see him play the drums with utmost devotion. His father opposes his relationship with a girl belonging to a lower caste and forces him to marry a girl of his choice Vasundhara (Sangeetha). Unable to bear his decision she commits suicide. He leads a very glum life with Vasundhara though she loves him and takes good care of him. He gets injured while trying to save his teacher
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Dhinarathrangal (1988)
Aravindan is shot at by the police for murdering Madhavan, a landlord. Ironically, he is supposed to be treated by Madhavan's daughter, Dr Savithri, who feels compassionate towards Aravindan.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Sukrutham (1994)
A journalist, Ravishankar is suffering from blood cancer and has lost all hopes. That is when he meets a Vedic doctor. But his death is more awaited than his recovery.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Padheyam (1993)
Chandradas, a renowned poet, accidentally meets his estranged teenage daughter, Harita. After great effort, he is able to take his daughter to his ancestral home. But Harita's past haunts her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Sarovaram (1993)
Sarovaram is the story of the life of a musician Devadathan, played by Mammootty. Devadathan returns back to India after a long stay in France. Devadathan plans on staying with his family but is met with hostility from his siblings.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Vatsalyam (1993)
Raghavan, a farmer, raises his brother, Vijayakumar, and gives him an education. However, when he grows up and gets married to a rich woman, Vijayakumaran conveniently forgets about his brother.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Kathodu Kathoram and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Kathodu Kathoram?
The closest matches to Kathodu Kathoram are Trance (2020), Won't Back Down (2012) and Return (2011). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Kathodu Kathoram?
Start with Trance (2020), the closest match to Kathodu Kathoram.
What is the highest-rated movie like Kathodu Kathoram?
Where Hope Grows (2014), rated 7.9/10 by 232 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Kathodu Kathoram?
Omaha (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Malayalam movies like Kathodu Kathoram?
Yes: Trance (2020), Iratta (2023) and Ente Hridayathinte Udama (2002).
How are movies similar to Kathodu Kathoram chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Kathodu Kathoram, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.