Movies like Pongivarum Kaveri (1989)
The best movies like Pongivarum Kaveri (1989) are The River (1984), Eleanor the Great (2025) and A Corner in Wheat (1909). If Pongivarum Kaveri hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Pongivarum Kaveri
Quick picks
- Highest ratedAll Together Now (2020)6.7/10 from 229 votes
- NewestEleanor the Great (2025)Released 2025
The River (1984)
Tom and Mae Garvey are a Tennessee farming couple battling violent floods to save their land. In addition to natural disasters, the Garveys fight to stop a selfish land developer and a local corporation from foreclosing on their farm. While Mae stays at home to care for their children and tend to the crops, Tom finds work as a scab at a steel mill to preserve his family's property.
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 thisA Corner in Wheat (1909)
On a whim, a greedy tycoon decides to corner the world market in wheat. This doubles the price of bread, forcing grain producers into charity lines and others further into poverty. The film contrasts the differences between the lives of those who work to grow the wheat and the life of the man who dabbles in its sale for profit.
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 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 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 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 thisJonathan (2018)
Jonathan is a young man with a strange condition that only his brother understands. But when he begins to yearn for a different life, their unique bond becomes increasingly tested.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe One That Got Away (1957)
Based on the true story of Oberleutnant Franz von Werra, the only German prisoner of war captured in Britain to escape back to Germany during the Second World War.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGirl Fight (2011)
Inspired by a true story, Girl Fight recounts the harrowing story of a 16-year-old, stellar high school student whose life spirals downward when her former friends conspire to upload onto the Internet a shocking video of them beating her up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Believe (2019)
A 9 year old boy experiences God's power in a supernatural way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 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 thisHurry Sundown (1967)
A ruthless Southern opportunist tries to buy his cousin's land, and when thwarted, brings several tragedies to the lives of his loved ones.
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 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 thisToo Late Blues (1961)
Ghost is an ideological musician and leader of a jazz band who would rather play his blues in the park to the birds than compromise himself. His peripatetic performances lead him to cross paths with a singer, while his masculinity is thrown into question following a violent brawl.
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 thisHide Your Smiling Faces (2014)
Tommy and his older brother Eric live in the midst of vast remote forests. The death of their friend pushes them close to the edge. Eric doesn’t know how to channel his energy. All at once, nature’s vastness feels stifling.
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 thisHitler (1997)
Jailer Sidhant Kumar is nicknamed Hitler at work for being the toughest supervisor, but at home, his wife rules the roost.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Sipayi (1996)
Sipayi, who fights for the welfare of the people in his village, falls in love with Shanti. When she is forced to marry a criminal, he tries to change her fate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Big Boss (1995)
Big Boss is a action oreinted movie in which, Surendra (Chiranjeevi) landing in a town for a job. He witnesses rivalry between two mafia gangs at that place. After a fight with a street goon, he is recognized by one gang and encouraged to become a don. He rents a room in Madhavi
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
S.P. Parasuram (1994)
S.P.Parshuram is an action oriented movie in which, Parshuram (Chiranjeevi) is a police official who is very rash and is willing to arrest his own family for the sake of the law. Harish, his brother, is caught in a blue film gang, and Sridevi, a common thief, almost becomes a victim but manages to escape. Because she is a witness, she is later assaulted and becomes blind. Rest of the movie is about how Parshuram recues his family from gangsters.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Muta Mestri (1993)
A commoner catches the attention of the Chief Minister of a state when he takes on a criminal to protect the rights of vegetable sellers. Impressed, the Chief Minister asks him to enter politics, which he soon does, but there is a price to pay.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Raja Vikramarka (1990)
Inspired by 1988 American film Coming to America.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Attaku Yamudu Ammayiki Mogudu (1989)
When young Rekha falls in love with unemployed Kalyan, her high-hat mother, Chamundeshwari, disapproves of the match and devises numerous schemes to drive the lovebirds apart. But Kalyan proves a tougher adversary than Chamundeshwari expects, and soon an intense battle of wills ensues.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
State Rowdy (1989)
An aspiring police officer changes the course of his life when he is unable to achieve his dream due to dirty politics. Then, he turns into an outlaw and decides to eliminate crime on his own.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Lankeshwarudu (1989)
Shankar decides to leave behind his life as a gangster and lead a normal life. However, when his brother-in-law's life is at stake, he decides to rethink his decision.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Pongivarum Kaveri?
The closest matches to Pongivarum Kaveri are The River (1984), Eleanor the Great (2025) and A Corner in Wheat (1909). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Pongivarum Kaveri?
Start with The River (1984), the closest match to Pongivarum Kaveri.
What is the highest-rated movie like Pongivarum Kaveri?
All Together Now (2020), rated 6.7/10 by 229 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Pongivarum Kaveri?
Eleanor the Great (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Pongivarum Kaveri?
Yes: The River (1984), Eleanor the Great (2025) and A Corner in Wheat (1909).
How are movies similar to Pongivarum Kaveri chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Pongivarum Kaveri, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.