Thambi Ramaiah & Sampath Raj Movies Together List — 4 Films

The shape of the work

The 2010s account for 75% of everything they made together. The 1990s belonged to Magudam; the 2010s to Viswasam. Thambi Ramaiah acted in every film; Sampath Raj acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.

Partnership facts

• In Magudam (1992), Thambi Ramaiah was a struggling assistant director. Sampath Raj was a newcomer. They met on set because Ramaiah was literally handing out water bottles to actors. That's where they first spoke.
• In Viswasam (2019), Sampath Raj played the villain who fights Thambi Ramaiah's character. But on set, Ramaiah kept cracking jokes between takes. Sampath Raj told an interviewer he had to walk away to stay in character — because Ramaiah's humour made him want to laugh instead of punch.
• After Magudam flopped, they didn't work together for 22 years. But they stayed in touch. Thambi Ramaiah once said Sampath Raj was the first person to call him when he won a state award in 2015.
• Sampath Raj said in a 2019 interview: 'Thambi anna is the only co-actor who has seen me as a junior artiste and as a villain. He never treated me differently in either role.'
• Their reunion in Jilla (2014) was accidental — neither knew the other was cast. When they spotted each other on set, they hugged for a full minute. That moment convinced director Nesan to write a longer scene for them in Viswasam.