Movies Like Needhiyin Nizhal

If you liked Needhiyin Nizhal (1985), a action and drama movie directed by Santhana Bharathi and P. Vasu, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
Theri (2016)
★ 6.9/10Also action
When an honest cop, Vijay Kumar's family is ruthlessly slaughtered by a politician and his aides, he decides to change his identity and commits his life to bring his daughter up in a serene atmosphere. But some freak…
2
Padayappa (1999)
★ 7.4/10Also drama and action
Padayappa, a mechanical engineer whose father gives up his property to his foster brother, and then dies of shock soon after. Neelambari initially loves Padayappa, but plans to humiliate him after his family humiliates…
3
Last Ride (2009)
★ 6.4/10Also drama
A young boy travels across Australia with his father, who's wanted by the law.
4
Yennai Arindhaal (2015)
★ 6.9/10Also action
Sathyadev, who is on a career break, is forced to put on his cop shoes ones again to save Thenmozhi, a young woman who is the target of a criminal organ harvesting group, led by a ghost from his past.
5
Won't Back Down (2012)
★ 6.2/10Also drama
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…
6
Darbar (2020)
★ 5.9/10Also action and drama
Aaditya, the commissioner of Mumbai Police, sets out to catch Ajay, a drug peddler. However, he uncovers a deeper controversy linked to an international drug lord and must mete out justice.
7
Skater Girl (2021)
★ 7.2/10Also drama
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.
8
Nayakan (1987)
★ 7.9/10Also drama
Velu Naicker, who witnesses the brutal murder of his father, kills a corrupt policeman and escapes to Mumbai, only to become a gangster.
9
Rocketry: The Nambi Effect (2022)
★ 7.7/10Also drama
The story of the great Indian rocket scientist, Shri Nambi Narayanan's life, a true patriot, who was turned into a villain in the blink of an eye after being falsely accused of treason.
10
Soorarai Pottru (2020)
★ 7.8/10Also drama and action
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.
11
Queen of Katwe (2016)
★ 7.2/10Also drama
A young girl overcomes her disadvantaged upbringing in the slums of Uganda to become a Chess master.
12
Indian (1996)
★ 7/10Also drama and action
Senapathy, an ex-freedom fighter, is angry. He is angry against the rampant corruption at every level of the bureaucracy. He will clean it up at any cost.
13
DSP (2022)
★ 6.2/10Also action and drama
A flower seller's son ends up in a tussle with a ruthless rowdy in Dindigul, forcing him to become a policeman and fight the odds.
14
My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown (1989)
★ 7.5/10Also drama
No one expects much from Christy Brown, a boy with cerebral palsy born into a working-class Irish family. Though Christy is a spastic quadriplegic and essentially paralyzed, a miraculous event occurs when, at the age…
15
The Mechanic (1972)
★ 6.7/10Also action
Arthur Bishop is a veteran hit man who, owing to his penchant for making his targets' deaths seem like accidents, thinks himself an artist. It's made him very rich, but as he hits middle age, he's so depressed and…
16
The Blue Lamp (1950)
★ 6.6/10Also action
P.C. George Dixon is a long-serving traditional copper who is due to retire shortly. He takes a new recruit under his aegis and introduces him to the easy-going night beat. Dixon is a classic ordinary hero but also…
17
Inside I'm Dancing (2004)
★ 7.4/10Also drama
Michael is a 24-year-old who has cerebral palsy and long-term resident of the Carrigmore Residential Home for the Disabled, run by the formidable Eileen. His life is transformed when the maverick Rory O'Shea moves in.
18
Por Thozhil (2023)
★ 7.3/10Also action
Loganathan, a senior cop is asked to mentor Prakash, an academically bright but faint-hearted rookie and this unlikely duo team up to investigate a series of murder cases, and realize all of them are interlinked and…
19
The Christmas Shoes (2002)
★ 6.8/10Also drama
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…
20
Eleanor the Great (2025)
★ 6.8/10Also drama
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.