Movies like Lava (1985)
The best movies like Lava (1985) are Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012), The River (1951) and Ek Tha Tiger (2012). If Lava hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedMy Name Is Khan (2010)8.0/10 from 1,527 votes
- NewestThe End We Start From (2023)Released 2023
- In HindiJab Tak Hai Jaan (2012)Also in Hindi
Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012)
Samar Anand, a London-based struggling musician falls in love with Meera Thappar. After a severe accident, a panicked Meera promises God to leave Samar if he lives. Heartbroken, Samar leaves for India to become a fearless bomb disposal expert in the army.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe River (1951)
Director Jean Renoir’s entrancing first color feature—shot entirely on location in India—is a visual tour de force. Based on the novel by Rumer Godden, the film eloquently contrasts the growing pains of three young women with the immutability of the Bengal river around which their daily lives unfold. Enriched by Renoir’s subtle understanding and appreciation for India and its people, The River gracefully explores the fragile connections between transitory emotions and everlasting creation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEk Tha Tiger (2012)
A top Indian agent is sent to observe the actions of a scientist but the mission complicates when he falls in love with the scientist's Pakistani caretaker.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDil Se.. (1998)
Journalist Amar falls for a mysterious woman on an assignment, but she does not reciprocate his feelings. However, when Amar is about to get married, the woman shows up at his doorstep asking for help.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSir (2018)
A prosperous young Indian man falls in love with his servant, a widow with the dream of becoming a fashion designer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRaja Hindustani (1996)
Raja, a taxi driver, falls in love with Aarti, a rich girl, and marries her against her parents' wishes. Later, her stepmother tries to create a rift betweenthe couple.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Namesake (2007)
The American-born son of Indian immigrants strives to fit in among his fellow New Yorkers despite his family's unwillingness to let go of their traditional ways.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Name Is Khan (2010)
Rizwan Khan, a Muslim from the Borivali section of Mumbai, has Asperger's syndrome. He marries a Hindu single mother, Mandira, in San Francisco. After 9/11, Rizwan is detained by authorities at LAX who treat him as a terrorist because of his condition and his race.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisErin Brockovich (2000)
A twice-divorced mother of three who sees an injustice, takes on the bad guy and wins -- with a little help from her push-up bra. Erin goes to work for an attorney and comes across medical records describing illnesses clustered in one nearby town. She starts investigating and soon exposes a monumental cover-up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe End We Start From (2023)
As London is submerged below floodwaters, a woman gives birth to her first child. Days later, she and her baby are forced to leave their home in search of safety. They head north through a newly dangerous country seeking refuge from place to place.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisRip Girls (2000)
A teen-age girl and her father come to an island on Hawaii, they find a closer relationship to each other and think about changing the island. During her adventures, Sydney finds friends, a new hobby with her fantastic photography, and the truth about her mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDevdas (2002)
In 1900s India, Calcuttan zamindar Devdas Mukherjee — unable to marry his lover — takes up alcohol and the company of a courtesan to alleviate the pain.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDhobi Ghat (2010)
Arun is a reclusive and lonely modern art painter. Shai is an American banker who is on a visit to Mumbai. Munna is a washerboy also living near Arun and Yasmin. The movie is about these four characters from different class of society and how the lives of four characters are intertwined.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003)
The sailor of legend is framed by the goddess Eris for the theft of the Book of Peace, and must travel to her realm at the end of the world to retrieve it and save the life of his childhood friend Prince Proteus.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994)
Prem and Nisha meet and fall in love at the wedding of their elder siblings, but their plans to be together are put in jeopardy when Nisha's sister dies, leaving behind a baby.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWater (2005)
In 1938, Mahatma Gandhi's groundbreaking philosophies sweep across India, but 8-year-old Chuyia, newly widowed, must go reside with other outcast widows on an ashram. Her presence transforms the ashram as she befriends two of her compatriots.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)
A married farmer falls under the spell of a slatternly woman from the city, who tries to convince him to drown his wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Impossible (2012)
In December 2004, close-knit family Maria, Henry and their three sons begin their winter vacation in Thailand. But the day after Christmas, the idyllic holiday turns into an incomprehensible nightmare when a terrifying roar rises from the depths of the sea, followed by a wall of black water that devours everything in its path. Though Maria and her family face their darkest hour, unexpected displays of kindness and courage ameliorate their terror.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPlane (2023)
After a heroic job of successfully landing his storm-damaged aircraft in a war zone, a fearless pilot finds himself between the agendas of multiple militias planning to take the plane and its passengers hostage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrishna (2011)
When her father is killed in a road accident, Trishna's family expect her to provide for them. The rich son of an entrepreneur starts to restlessly pursue her affections, but are his intentions as pure as they seem?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Lava?
The closest matches to Lava are Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012), The River (1951) and Ek Tha Tiger (2012). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Lava?
Start with Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012), the closest match to Lava.
What is the highest-rated movie like Lava?
My Name Is Khan (2010), rated 8.0/10 by 1,527 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Lava?
The End We Start From (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Hindi movies like Lava?
Yes: Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012), Ek Tha Tiger (2012) and Dil Se.. (1998).
How are movies similar to Lava chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Lava, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.