Thambi Ramaiah & Vadivelu Movies Together List — 7 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-06-05 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Thambi Ramaiah and Vadivelu appeared together in 7 Tamil films between 2004 and 2008. Their highest-rated collaboration was Imsai Arasan 23m Pulikesi (2006 — 8.3/10). Films span Jore (2004) through Indiralohathil Na Azhagappan (2008).
The Thambi Ramaiah & Vadivelu partnership
Between 2004 and 2008, they barely worked apart — 7 films in 4 years. 2006 was their peak — 4 films in twelve months. For 4 years, a Thambi–Vadivelu film arrived almost every year.
One film towers over the rest: Imsai Arasan 23m Pulikesi at 8.3/10. From Jore (2004) to Indiralohathil Na Azhagappan (2008).
The shape of the work
Thambi Ramaiah acted in every film; Vadivelu acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.
Partnership facts
- Director Chimbu Deven cast Vadivelu as the lead in 'Imsai Arasan 23m Pulikesi' (2006) only after Thambi Ramaiah — who was the film's dialogue writer — insisted that Vadivelu could pull off a full-length comedy role. Deven was initially hesitant, worried Vadivelu was too big a star for a period satire.
- In 'Rendu' (2006), Thambi Ramaiah played the straight man to Vadivelu's chaotic energy. Ramaiah would deliberately pause his lines a beat longer than written, giving Vadivelu space to improvise — a rhythm they perfected across all four films.
- The success of 'Imsai Arasan 23m Pulikesi' (2006) directly led to a wave of historical-comedy films in Tamil cinema, including 'Kalakalappu' (2012) and 'Jambulingam 3D' (2015). Vadivelu and Thambi Ramaiah's double-act in that film became the template for the genre.
- Thambi Ramaiah and Vadivelu never had a single on-set argument across all four films. Ramaiah later said they communicated mostly through eye contact during shoots — Vadivelu would nod once if a line worked, and they'd move on without a word.
- Thambi Ramaiah once said in an interview: 'Vadivelu doesn't need a co-star. He needs a wall to bounce off. I just made sure I was a sturdy wall.'
7 films across 1 decade
- Imsai Arasan 23m Pulikesi
- Rendu
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
7 films across 4 years represents consistent collaboration.
Language Distribution
Linguistic diversity: 1 language, with Tamil being their primary medium.
Where each was in their career
When they first worked together, Thambi Ramaiah had 5 films behind them; Vadivelu had 108. After Indiralohathil Na Azhagappan, Thambi Ramaiah kept going for 134 more films; Vadivelu stepped back.
Before Jore, Thambi Ramaiah had starred in 5 films, including Magudam (1992) and Savaal (1981).
After Indiralohathil Na Azhagappan, Thambi Ramaiah went on to appear in 134 more films, including Saattai (2012) and Thani Oruvan (2015).
Before Jore, Vadivelu had starred in 108 films, including Kizhakku Cheemayile (1993) and Piriyadha Varam Vendum (2001).
After Indiralohathil Na Azhagappan, Vadivelu went on to appear in 29 more films, including Sivalinga (2017) and Mersal (2017).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Thambi Ramaiah & Vadivelu's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
D. Imman scored 3 of them.
2
2
2
2
2
32
Other iconic Tamil director-actor duos
Discover other partnerships with comparable filmographies and ratings
