Film

Theri

Vijay Kumar, an honest cop, loses his family to a politician's violence and goes into hiding as Joseph Kuruvilla to raise his daughter in peace. When his identity is compromised, he's forced back into action to protect her and avenge his family. A high-octane Tamil action thriller with genuine emotional stakes beneath the spectacle.

TMDb rating3.4

If you liked this

Rosemary's Baby1968

Akshay Kumar as a secret agent protecting a politician's daughter, with the same blend of family protection, political corruption, and explosive action sequences that define Theri's core appeal.

But The spy-thriller apparatus sometimes overwhelms character development, and the runtime stretches moments that could land faster.

Rosemary's Baby poster

Khuda Haafiz2020

An ordinary man descends into vengeance after his wife is trafficked abroad. Visceral, personal rage driving a man to violence he never expected from himself—the emotional core mirrors Theri's transformation perfectly.

But The violence is grimmer and less stylised than Theri; it's harder to watch and less cathartic.

Khuda Haafiz poster

Badlapur2015

Varun Dhawan as a man consumed by seven-year obsession with avenging his family's murder. Methodical, cold, and genuinely unsettling—it understands that vengeance hollows you out before it satisfies.

But It's slow-burn and introspective where Theri is kinetic; some find the pacing testing even when the ideas grip.

Badlapur poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Theri

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Night Comes For Us2018

A man stepping outside institutional violence to protect a child, then fighting everyone—his former allies, a system designed to crush him. The mechanics are nearly identical, but the register is stripped of heroism.

An Indonesian action film of stunning violence and craft—a corrupt cop's lieutenant decides to abandon his post and protect a child he's been ordered to kill. The action is balletic brutality; the emotional thrust is pure and laser-focused.

But The subtitles are relentless, and the violence is graphic and sustained in ways that can numb rather than catharify; there's no glamour to it.

The Night Comes For Us poster
More like this (6)

Singham2011

Ajay Devgn as an incorruptible rural cop taking on a powerful industrialist. The righteous-cop-versus-systemic-evil dynamic is identical, and the action is exhilarating without apology.

But It's become a template that subsequent sequels and imitators have worn thin; the novelty has aged.

Singham poster

Ghajini2008

Aamir Khan as a man avenging his wife's murder against an amoral industrialist. Obsession, loss, and a man becoming the weapon his grief demands—the thematic DNA is there.

But The subplot romance feels baggy, and the climax relies on contrivance rather than earning its catharsis.

Ghajini poster

Jawan2023

Shah Rukh Khan as a man using deception and violence to dismantle systemic corruption from within. Similar themes of hidden identity and moral ambiguity wrapped in spectacle.

But It tries to be too many things at once and occasionally loses focus; the tonal shifts can feel jarring.

Jawan poster

Jai Bhim2021

Suriya as a lawyer fighting systemic injustice and police brutality. It shares Theri's righteous anger at corruption, but channels it through investigation rather than action.

But It's slower, legalistic, and deliberately restrained—nothing like Theri's kinetic energy, which some will find less engaging.

Jai Bhim poster

Kabali2016

Rajinikanth as a man exacting revenge on those who destroyed his family and freedom. The aging-action-hero-with-purpose framework overlaps with Theri's journey.

But The plot is more threadbare, and some sequences feel indulgent; the film coasts on star power rather than story momentum.

Kabali poster

The Hunt2012

Both hinge on the fragility of assumed identity and what happens when a hidden life is discovered. But where Theri builds to righteous action, The Hunt asks whether innocence protects you at all.

Mads Mikkelsen as a man falsely accused of a terrible crime in a small town. It's about how identity becomes weaponised, how false narratives destroy everything, how a man can be unmade by circumstance. Devastating and precise.

But It's quiet, Norwegian, and deeply pessimistic; there's no cathartic action, no justice, no redemption—only damage.

The Hunt poster

People

Cast

Directing

Writing

Production

Recommended by

Kabali, Naanum Rowdydhaan, Singam, Anjathe, Maari, Maryan