Movies like Nirakkoottu (1985)
The best movies like Nirakkoottu (1985) are Hungry Hearts (2015), The Truth About Emanuel (2013) and While the City Sleeps (1956). If Nirakkoottu hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedAn Adventure in Space and Time (2013)7.7/10 from 222 votes
- NewestEleanor the Great (2025)Released 2025
- In MalayalamChandrolsavam (2005)Also in Malayalam
Hungry 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 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 thisWhile the City Sleeps (1956)
Newspaper men compete against each other to find a serial killer dubbed "The Lipstick Killer".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove Finds You In Sugarcreek (2014)
Will a mysterious stranger's past wreak havoc on a quiet Amish community after they've opened their doors -- and hearts -- to him and his son?
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 thisNational Theatre Live: Hamlet (2015)
As a country arms itself for war, a family tears itself apart. Forced to avenge his father's death but paralyzed by the task ahead, Hamlet rages against the impossibility of his predicament, threatening both his sanity and the security of the state.
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 thisEach Dawn I Die (1939)
A corrupt D.A. with governatorial ambitions is annoyed by an investigative reporter's criticism of his criminal activities and decides to frame the reporter for manslaughter in order to silence him.
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 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 thisAn Adventure in Space and Time (2013)
Actor William Hartnell felt trapped by a succession of hard-man roles while wannabe producer Verity Lambert was frustrated by the TV industry's glass ceiling. Both of them were to find unlikely hope and unexpected challenges in the form of a Saturday tea-time drama. Allied with a team of unusual but brilliant people, they went on to create the longest running science fiction series ever made.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Assault (2014)
After a cheerleader is sexually assaulted by the high school football team, she must overcome her shame and use the evidence gathered from the subsequent social media firestorm to piece together the night that she can't remember in her fight for justice. Based on the true story of the Steubenville, Ohio rape case.
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 thisThe Locket (1946)
A dark personal secret drives a young woman to use every man she encounters.
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 thisA Kiss Before Dying (1956)
A college student tries to get rich quick by wooing two wealthy sisters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisBelieve (2013)
A young, gifted soccer player who gets into trouble for a petty crime is brought to the attention of former Manchester United coach Matt Busby, who comes out of retirement to help the boy and his teammates.
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 thisReality (2023)
Augusta, Georgia, United States, June 3, 2017. After running some errands, Reality Winner returns home, where she is approached by two men.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDharma Chakram (1996)
The story is about a family in which mother and son together fight against father for the principles and human values. Srividhya, as a ditched wife, rises up her kid Rakesh (Venkatesh) with well behavior, manner and makes him a good lawyer to do justice to the fellow woman who are cheated brutally by their husbands. How Rakesh takes the revenge on his father for the injustice that he had done to his mother is the crux of the film.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Sri Manjunatha (2001)
Manjunatha, an atheist, fights against social evils. He marries Kathyayini, a staunch devotee of Lord Shiva. As the days go by, Manjunatha realizes the existence of God.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Chandrolsavam (2005)
Sreehari has returned home from Paris after six years. He tries to settle some scores and clear misunderstandings with his old friends before leaving his village.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Natturajavu (2004)
Pulikkattil Charlie is an affluent and honest man who is forced to spend most of his time sorting out the mess left behind by his evil late father, Pulikattil Mathan.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Punarjani (2002)
Punarjani movie is about a 11-year-old child Appu (Pranav Mohanlal) who has a feeling that his mother gives more love and attention to his younger brother (Unni). Though Appu argues with his mom to give his younger brother the same workload as he does, he is the one who goes to the temple early morning to sing the Sopanam after which he provides milk to a tea shop and then goes to school.His only friend is the Swamiji who sits next to the temple and tells him the stories of the famous
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Balettan (2003)
Balettan's father reveals to him on his deathbed that he has another family. He requests Balettan to take care of them, without informing his mother about it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Thandavam (2002)
Brothers Kasinathan and Swaminathan strive for the good of their village. But after Swaminathan dies mysteriously, Kasi investigates and eventually becomes the new patriarch.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Onnaman (2002)
Ravishankar, a street urchin, is looked after by Salim, a local don. After Salim's demise, Ravishankar rises to power and fights against an evil gangster.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Chathurangam (2002)
After learning about Jimmy's talents, a minister makes him the secretary of his political party. However, things turn upside down when his own party member tries to plot against him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Unnathangalil (2001)
Unnathangalil is a 2014 Malayalam film directed by Joemon. The film stars Lal, Manoj K Jayan, Poornima Mohan and Indraja in lead roles.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Nirakkoottu and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Nirakkoottu?
The closest matches to Nirakkoottu are Hungry Hearts (2015), The Truth About Emanuel (2013) and While the City Sleeps (1956). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Nirakkoottu?
Start with Hungry Hearts (2015), the closest match to Nirakkoottu.
What is the highest-rated movie like Nirakkoottu?
An Adventure in Space and Time (2013), rated 7.7/10 by 222 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Nirakkoottu?
Eleanor the Great (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Malayalam movies like Nirakkoottu?
Yes: Chandrolsavam (2005), Natturajavu (2004) and Punarjani (2002).
How are movies similar to Nirakkoottu chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Nirakkoottu, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.