Movies like Jalwa (1987)
The best movies like Jalwa (1987) are The Virtuoso (2021), Until Death (2007) and War 2 (2025). If Jalwa hooked you with its thriller and action, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedRed Right Hand (2024)6.6/10 from 264 votes
- NewestMardaani 3 (2026)Released 2026
- In HindiWar 2 (2025)Also in Hindi
The Virtuoso (2021)
Danger, deception and murder descend upon a sleepy town when a professional assassin accepts a new assignment from his enigmatic boss.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisUntil Death (2007)
Anthony Stowe is a dirty cop who is hooked on heroin—and everyone hates him. After a serious accident, he is placed into an induced coma, but emerges from it a better person who wants to put things right.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisWar 2 (2025)
Years ago Agent Kabir went rogue, became India’s greatest villain ever. As he descends further into the deepest shadows... India sends its deadliest, most lethal agent after him, Agent Vikram A Special Units Officer who is more than Kabir’s equal and a relentless Terminator driven by his own demons, determined to put a bullet into Kabir’s skull.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Killer (2024)
Zee is a feared contract killer known as "the Queen of the Dead," but when she refuses to murder a young blind woman, she finds herself hunted both by criminal colleagues and a determined police detective.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAn Action Hero (2022)
At the age of just 30, Maanav at the peak of his acting career gets caught up in a murder accusation, which turns his own life into an eccentric action thriller as he flees the country, with a vengeful politician hot on his heels.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStolen Girl (2025)
In 1993, Maureen’s six-year-old daughter Amina is snuck out of the country by her ex-husband, Karim. After years of unsuccessful attempts to find her, Maureen intersects with a professional retriever of internationally abducted children who promises to help her find Amina in exchange for her collaboration.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHellhound (2024)
Ready to leave his profession behind, Loreno, an assassin, lends help to an old friend, Cetan, and taking one last job in Thailand seeking out a local kingpin. A lapse in judgment means Loreno crosses paths with old colleague Paul.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShade (2003)
Tiffany, Charlie and Vernon are con artists looking to up the ante from their typical scams. They figure a good way of doing this is taking down Dean "The Dean" Stevens, a well-known cardsharp, in a rigged game. However, they first need enough money to enter a game with Stevens, so they decide to strike a deal with fellow crook Larry Jennings to scam a local gangster -- which turns out to be a bad idea.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Island (2023)
When his brother is killed, LAPD officer Mark leaves the city to return to the island he grew up on. Seeking answers and ultimately vengeance, he soon finds himself in a bloody battle with the corrupt tycoon who's taken over the island paradise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMardaani 3 (2026)
Officer Shivani Shivaji Roy returns to hunt down those behind the disappearance of young girls, risking everything to bring them back alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRed Right Hand (2024)
Cash is trying to live a quiet, honest life in a small Appalachian town. When a vicious crime boss forces him back into her services, he soon learns he's capable of anything -- even killing -- to protect his family and his home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrap House (2025)
An undercover DEA agent and his partner embark on a game of cat and mouse with an audacious, and surprising group of thieves – their own rebellious teenagers, who have begun robbing from a dangerous cartel, using their parents' tactics and top-secret intel to do it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe System (2022)
When a young soldier, newly returned from war, gets caught up in a drug bust, he is recruited by the authorities to go undercover in a notoriously dangerous prison in order to figure out what is really going on.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBest of the Best 4: Without Warning (1998)
A group of Russian mobsters have stolen a huge supply of paper for printing U.S. currency, and are now flooding the market with conterfeit bills. When one of the mobsters decides to give herself in and hand over a data CD to the DA, she is shot and killed, but not before handing the disc to an unsuspecting Tommy Lee. Despite working with the police as a martial arts instructor, Lee doesn't go to the cops with the disc, but instead goes on the run, giving the mafia time to kidnap his daughter and hold as a hostage in exchange for return of the disc. Will Tommy ever see his daughter again?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe International (2009)
An interpol agent and an attorney are determined to bring one of the world's most powerful banks to justice. Uncovering money laundering, arms trading, and conspiracy to destabilize world governments, their investigation takes them from Berlin, Milan, New York and Istanbul. Finding themselves in a chase across the globe, their relentless tenacity puts their own lives at risk.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNight Train (2023)
Mother Holly McCord is driven to extremes to save the life of her young son. Even if it means hauling black market drugs in her souped-up truck, with the Feds in hot pursuit. With two bounties on her head and her son’s life on the line, Holly climbs behind the wheel of “Night Train,” ready to outrun, out gun, and outlast them all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisIn Cold Light (2026)
Fresh out of prison, Ava's attempt to reclaim her drug operation collapses when she witnesses a brutal crime, forcing her to flee into a nightmarish underworld where allies are scarce and enemies multiply by the minute.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisFrank and Penelope (2022)
A tale of love and violence when a man on his emotional last legs finds a savior seductively dancing in a run-down strip club. And a life most certainly headed off a cliff suddenly becomes redirected - as everything is now worth dying for.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisEmpire (2002)
Big time drug dealer Victor Rosa is looking to get out of the game and sees his chance with a big deal with a new friend who happens to be a Wall St. stockbroker. Thinking this will be his chance to go out on top, Victor soon finds out that he's been double crossed and his last option is to get revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYakeen (1969)
Rajesh Sharma, working with the Indian Government on a top secret research project, has to deal with enemy agents, explosions, murder and last but not least a dangerous look-alike.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
The Hero: Love Story of a Spy (2003)
Arun Khanna is a spy for the Indian government whose aid is enlisted to stop ISI Chief Ishak Khan. Khan is trying to build a nuclear bomb with which he can liberate Kashmir from the Indians. A battle of wits ensues. When Khan detonates a bomb at Khanna's engagement party to a fellow spy, Khanna's resolve is only strengthened. Now not only does he have to fight Khan, but he also has to track down his missing fiancee.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & action
Murder at Monkey Hill (1976)
The story deals with a professional hitman, who falls in love with the woman he sets out to murder.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Sham Ghansham (1998)
Satyadev Singh lives with his wife, Ganga, and two sons, Sham and Ghansham, and their family leads a fairly comfortable life. Things turn for the worse for them when a new corrupt Collector named Bhim Singh enters their region. Satyadev is killed, and Ganga has to flee with her children away from this region, and from Bhim Singh. Years later, Sham and Ghansham have grown up and would like to avenge their father's death. Their quest takes them to Collector Bhim Singh and his men, who are ready to let history repeat itself, by killing the sons of Satyadev Singh.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Jurrat (1989)
Inspector Avinash is transferred to Mumbai and is tasked to nab smuggler Kama Seth. When Kama hoodwinks Avinash and makes him a laughing stock in the eyes of the media, he makes a dangerous decision.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
8 PM: A Murder Mystery (2008)
A cop investigates about a serial killer who follows a pattern of killing a fashion model at 8 PM.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Mona Darling (2017)
A contemporary who-dunnit, with a splash of supernatural, set in a college campus somewhere in India (a la Indian Institute Of Technology) where a few mysterious deaths occur and the only common link between the victims is that, seconds before their deaths, they all accepted a 'facebook friend request' from a certain profile page of Mona_Darling. The person behind the said page, Mona happens to be missing. Her friend, and a fellow student, Sarah recruits the help of a classmate, Wiki - a borderline sociopathic genius. This odd-couple of amateur sleuths carry on their investigation as the story leads them into unexpected corners and terrifying revelations. It's a pacy thriller, confined to limited locations on one single campus, populated by fresh, sexy, young characters that can be executed on a fairly shoestring budget. More importantly it captures the present zeitgeist of young India and its obsession with social networking.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Aakhir Palaayan Kab Tak..? (2024)
A cop faces personal struggles in a deceptive town where dark forces exploit community sentiments. The movie explores themes of greed, community manipulation, and personal redemption.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Murder Mubarak (2024)
When a gym trainer is murdered at an elite Delhi club, a wily investigator unravels the sordid secrets of its ultrarich members to find the killer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKaalakaandi (2018)
Unfolding through a course of a night in Mumbai, Kaalakaandi showcases three parallel tracks — a man who discovers he has terminal illness decides to let go of his principles and live a little; a woman involved in a hit-and-run seeks redemption and two goons must decide if they can trust each other.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Like Jalwa and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Jalwa?
The closest matches to Jalwa are The Virtuoso (2021), Until Death (2007) and War 2 (2025). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Jalwa?
Start with The Virtuoso (2021), the closest match to Jalwa.
What is the highest-rated movie like Jalwa?
Red Right Hand (2024), rated 6.6/10 by 264 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Jalwa?
Mardaani 3 (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Hindi movies like Jalwa?
Yes: War 2 (2025), An Action Hero (2022) and Mardaani 3 (2026).
How are movies similar to Jalwa chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Jalwa, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.