Movies like Adalat (1958)
The best movies like Adalat (1958) are El Chicano (2019), Skin (2009) and Hardball (2001). If Adalat hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedWhat Maisie Knew (2013)7.1/10 from 466 votes
- NewestHomebound (2025)Released 2025
- In HindiHomebound (2025)Also in Hindi
El Chicano (2019)
A pair of twin brothers from East L.A. choose to live their lives differently and end up on opposite sides of the law.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSkin (2009)
Based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHardball (2001)
An aimless young man who is scalping tickets, gambling and drinking, agrees to coach a Little League team from the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago as a condition of getting a loan from a friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhat Maisie Knew (2013)
In New York City, six-year-old Maisie is caught in the middle of a bitter custody battle between her self-absorbed parents—an aging rock singer mother and a distracted art dealer father. As both quickly marry new partners to strengthen their legal standing, Maisie is shuttled back and forth in an endless game of emotional point-scoring. Yet amid the chaos and upheaval, Maisie begins to find true comfort and affection in her new step-parents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPimp (2018)
An urban love story set on the hard streets of the Bronx. A struggling female pimp, named Wednesday, grows up learning the game from her dad. Once he's gone she's left to look out for her prostitute mother and girlfriend Nikki.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Enforcer (2022)
A noir thriller set in Miami, the film follows an enforcer who discovers his femme fatale boss has branched out into cyber sex trafficking, putting a young runaway he’s befriended at risk. He sacrifices everything to save the young girl from the deadly organization he’s spent his life building.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBastard Out of Carolina (1996)
A poor, struggling South Carolinian mother and daughter face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow both closer and farther apart: Anney sees Glen as her last chance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisVanya on 42nd Street (1994)
An uninterrupted rehearsal of Chekhov's 'Uncle Vanya' plays out by a company of actors. The setting: their run-down theater with an unusable stage and crumbling ceiling. The play is shown act by act with the briefest of breaks to move props or for refreshments. The lack of costumes, real props and scenery is soon forgotten.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHounddog (2008)
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHungry 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 thisImperial Dreams (2014)
A 21-year-old reformed gangster's devotion to his family and his future is put to the test when he is released from prison and returns to his old stomping grounds in Watts, Los Angeles.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSalomé (2013)
After the lewd and frenetic Dance of the Seven Veils, and with the solemn pledge from the very lips of Herod himself that she could have whatever her heart desires up to half his kingdom, wanton and proud young Salomé comes before her king with an unreasonable demand. Beguiled by John the Baptist, and then scorned for the sake of his god, lascivious Salomé—encouraged by her mother, the vindictive, Herodias—commands that John be executed and his head delivered on a silver platter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHomebound (2025)
Two childhood friends from a small North Indian village chase a police job that promises them the dignity they’ve long been denied. But as they inch closer to their dream, mounting desperation threatens the bond that holds them together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMagpie (2024)
A couple's lives are thrown into disarray when their daughter is cast opposite a controversial major star.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKisses (2008)
Two kids, Dylan and Kylie, run away from home on Christmas Day and spend a night of magic and terror on the streets of inner-city Dublin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Girl in the Book (2015)
The story of a young writer's transformation when her past invades her present.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Cut (2025)
A retired boxer intends to return to the ring for one last shot at the title, but first he must make the weight. Holed up in a room in Las Vegas with an unscrupulous trainer, he embarks on an intensive and illegal weight-cutting program.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAbove the Rim (1994)
Story of a promising high school basketball star and his relationships with two brothers, one a drug dealer and the other a former basketball star fallen on hard times and now employed as a security guard.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Trials of Cate McCall (2013)
In order to be reinstated to the bar and recover custody of her daughter, a hotshot lawyer, now in recovery and on probation, must take on the appeal of a woman wrongfully convicted of murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGirl in the Box (2016)
The true story of 20-year-old Colleen Stan, a hitchhiking woman abducted by a young couple and held captive for seven years, during which time she's tortured and forced to live as a slave to her captors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMaya (1961)
Disillusioned with his wealthy friends, a man pretends to be poor and goes to live in the slums where he falls in love with a burglar's sister.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Gunahon Ka Devta (1967)
A drunkard falls in love with a girl, who takes on the responsibility of making him better.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Dange (2024)
Former friends Xavier and Yuva meet again in college as adversaries when their respective cohorts come to blows during their annual cultural festival.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Black Bud (2021)
Sanya, a rebellious contemporary girl but a poet at heart, escapes her strict orthodox father's house in search of a new life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Cheers (2015)
10 years ago, a boy abandoned his alcoholic mother. Now a man, he returns to meet her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Afternoon Clouds (2017)
Kaki is a 60-year-old widow who lives with her Nepali maid, Malti. The film takes place on one afternoon in their house where a flower blossoms in the balcony. Malti meets a boy (a sailor) from her hometown unexpectedly.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Daava (1997)
Arjun is police officer and he has two stepbrothers, Bhishma and Suraj. Dhaman takes full advantage of this situation, and watches as the brothers go against each other.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Ek Second... Jo Zindagi Badal De... (2010)
From the moment Rashi (Manisha Koirala) decides not to get on a train home from her job, her life turns in a new direction. But what about what could have been if she did board that train? This drama about destiny and life's turns traces Rashi's parallel lives. Her current beau (Moammar Rana) may not be her true love, as she's about to find out -- or &NFi;not&NFi_; find out. Partho Ghosh (Mr. Hot Mr. Kool) directs.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Aag (1994)
Birju is the mysterious guardian of a remote village. One day, a beautiful young woman arrives and disrupts the order. This disruption forces Birju into conflict with the village aristocracy and reveals his shocking past.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Bahurani (1989)
Amit wants to marry a modern woman but his parents get him married to a village girl, Madhuri. When Amit refuses to accept her as his wife, Madhuri reinvents herself as Malathi and re-enters his life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Adalat?
The closest matches to Adalat are El Chicano (2019), Skin (2009) and Hardball (2001). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Adalat?
Start with El Chicano (2019), the closest match to Adalat.
What is the highest-rated movie like Adalat?
What Maisie Knew (2013), rated 7.1/10 by 466 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Adalat?
Homebound (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Hindi movies like Adalat?
Yes: Homebound (2025), Maya (1961) and Gunahon Ka Devta (1967).
How are movies similar to Adalat chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Adalat, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.