Movies like Pudhupettai (2006)
The best movies like Pudhupettai (2006) are Thalapathi (1991), Vada Chennai (2018) and Jagame Thandhiram (2021). If Pudhupettai hooked you with its action and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- NewestVeera Dheera Sooran: Part 2 (2025)Released 2025
- In TamilThalapathi (1991)Also in Tamil
Thalapathi (1991)
Surya, a courageous man who was raised in the slums, fights for the rights of the poor and befriends Deva, who hires him as his commander and changes his life completely.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisVada Chennai (2018)
Anbu, a young carrom player in North Chennai becomes inadvertently involved in an ongoing conflict between two local gangsters.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJagame Thandhiram (2021)
When a clever, carefree gangster is recruited to help an overseas crime lord take down a rival, he is caught off guard by the moral dilemmas that follow.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisVeera Dheera Sooran: Part 2 (2025)
Kaali is a provision store owner and a loving husband and father, is brought back into the life of crime, when his former boss's son is being hunted by the police.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Kabali (2016)
A gangster in Malaysia goes in search of his family after 25 years of imprisonment.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBullett Raja (2013)
A common man who transforms into a gangster revolts against the very system he once obediently followed by declaring war on the police, the government, and the industrialists.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Nayakan (1987)
Velu Naicker, who witnesses the brutal murder of his father, kills a corrupt policeman and escapes to Mumbai, only to become a gangster.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisKaaka Muttai (2015)
Two slum kids yearn to taste a pizza after being enticed by the pizza shop that has opened near their locality. What happens when they manage to find the money to buy one?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMalik (2021)
A past ridden with crime, death and pain is recounted to Freddy, a juvenile criminal, who has been assigned to eliminate his estranged uncle Sulaiman, an aging patriarch, while behind bars.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJigarthanda DoubleX (2023)
A notorious gangster is incited to transform into a film hero and opts for a filmmaker and their project descends into a scenario they had never anticipated.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJigarthanda (2014)
A budding director endeavors to research a merciless gangster for making a film on gangsterism. But his secret attempts to conduct the research fail when he gets caught for snooping.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAnjaan (2014)
A man travels to Mumbai in search of his estranged brother, a feared figure in the criminal underworld. As he follows the trail through gang rivalries and shifting alliances, he uncovers a complex web of loyalty, deception, and violence that blurs the line between justice and revenge.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisAadukalam (2011)
Pettaikaaran is famous in his town for an impeccable track record of successes in rooster fights. When one of his aides, Karuppu, goes against his word in a fight, it leads to an enmity between them.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThani Oruvan (2015)
An idealistic cop and an ambitious scientist-businessman indulge in a high-stake battle of wits.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTheeran Adhigaaram Ondru (2017)
A hardnosed cop goes after a gang of ruthless dacoits who have been terrorising residents along the highway for a decade.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMadras (2014)
A portrayal of the lives of the people living in North Madras, focusing on the politics inside the slums and how their plight remains the same, despite the political class luring them constantly during elections.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & action
Baasha (1995)
Auto rickshaw driver Manickam avoids violence at all costs. When some thugs begin to intimidate Manickam's family, it triggers the revival of Manickam's old self.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSoodhu Kavvum (2013)
Dass specialises in small time kidnapping and has his own set of rules. The primary and most important among them is not to get involved with influential people. Three jobless youngsters meet Dass and the four take up an assignment for a hefty sum that throws away this primary rule and end up being chased by a dreaded policeman.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisVirumaandi (2004)
Angela, a civil advocate interviewing inmates at the Madras Central Prison for a documentary on the death penalty meets Virumaandi and Kothaala, who are sentenced to death and life respectively for their roles in perpetrating the massacre of 24 people during a brutal clash between feuding villages. As tensions mount within the prison walls, she listens to their conflicting accounts of the same story.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPolladhavan (2007)
Prabhu is dejected when he learns that his bike has been stolen. He decides to find the people who stole the bike, but lands in trouble when he realises that his bike has been used to transport drugs.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & drama
Velaikkaran (2017)
An enterprising youngster in a slum wants his people to lead a life of dignity, but has to take on an ambitious capitalist, who only wants to dominate his field.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAsuran (2019)
A family from the underprivileged class is on the run after the teenaged son kills a rich man from the upper caste. Can the pacifist father be able to save his hot-blooded son?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKarnan (2021)
Karnan, an angry young man, fights for the rights of his oppressed people. Can he save them from those who wield power and weapons?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMaari (2015)
A feared local rowdy, known for his dominance in the streets and pigeon racing, finds himself at odds with a newly appointed police officer. As tensions rise, hidden motives and betrayals unfold, shaking the balance of power in the neighborhood.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVisaranai (2016)
Pandi and his friends, immigrant workers in Andhra Pradesh, are picked up by cops for a crime they never committed. And thus begins their nightmare, where they become pawns in a vicious game where the voiceless are strangled by those with power.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSoorarai Pottru (2020)
Nedumaaran Rajangam "Maara" sets out to make the common man fly and in the process takes on the world's most capital intensive industry and several enemies who stand in his way.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMahanadhi (1994)
Krishnaswamy, an honest man, is conned into a chit fund business and imprisoned. While he faces unspeakable hardships in prison, his family disintegrates.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Thalaivaa (2013)
Vishwa runs a small business in Sydney, unaware that his father is a gangster in Mumbai. When his father is killed by a rival, Vishwa takes over his crime syndicate with revenge on his mind.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBilla (2007)
The intertwined stories of an international Don in Malaysia, David Billa, chased by the cops, an Indian police officer, a woman who wants to avenge the death of her brother, and a lowly thief, Velu who shares with Billa, an unusual connection.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Pudhupettai?
The closest matches to Pudhupettai are Thalapathi (1991), Vada Chennai (2018) and Jagame Thandhiram (2021). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Pudhupettai?
People who watched Pudhupettai most often go on to Thalapathi (1991), Vada Chennai (2018) and Jagame Thandhiram (2021).
What is the newest movie like Pudhupettai?
Veera Dheera Sooran: Part 2 (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Tamil movies like Pudhupettai?
Yes: Thalapathi (1991), Vada Chennai (2018) and Jagame Thandhiram (2021).
How are movies similar to Pudhupettai chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Pudhupettai, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.