Lakshmi & Manorama Movies Together List — 12 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-06-04 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Lakshmi and Manorama appeared together in 12 Tamil films between 1969 and 1997. Their highest-rated collaboration was Agathiyar (1972 — 7.5/10). Films span Annaiyum Pithavum (1969) through Vallal (1997).
The Lakshmi & Manorama partnership
Their work runs across 4 decades of Tamil cinema. After 9 years apart, they came back together for Periya Kudumbam (1995). 1972 was their peak — 3 films in twelve months.
They didn't share a set between 1986 and 1995. The work is uneven: Agathiyar (7.5) at one end, Oru Malarin Payanam (1.0) at the other.
The shape of the work
The 1960s belonged to Annaiyum Pithavum; the 1990s to Vallal. Lakshmi acted in every film; Manorama acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.
Partnership facts
- For Annaiyum Pithavum (1969), director K. Shankar was struggling to find a mother figure who could match Lakshmi's intensity. Manorama walked in unannounced, auditioned on the spot with a single dialogue, and got the role. Lakshmi later said Manorama's raw energy in that scene made her nervous for the first time in her career.
- In Agathiyar (1972), Lakshmi played the sage's wife and Manorama played a demon queen. Manorama deliberately overacted in every take to push Lakshmi into a more restrained, internal performance. Lakshmi later admitted she had to unlearn her usual style just to keep up with Manorama's chaos.
- On the sets of Oru Malarin Payanam (1985), the two actresses had a running bet: whoever flubbed a line first had to buy the other a full meal at the nearest non-veg hotel. Manorama lost every single day. Lakshmi still jokes that Manorama funded her entire diet that month.
- Lakshmi once said in a 1996 interview: 'Manorama didn't act with me. She fought with me on screen. Every scene was a war. And I loved losing to her.'
- Their pairing in Periya Kudumbam (1995) directly inspired director K. S. Ravikumar to cast them together again in a never-made project about two aging actresses running a drama troupe. The script was written but shelved after Manorama's health declined.
12 films across 4 decades
The 1960s accounted for 1 film.
The 1970s brought 4 films together, anchored by Agathiyar (7.5/10).
The 1980s brought 4 films together, anchored by Savaal (7.0/10).
The 1990s accounted for 3 films, averaging 4.7/10.
- Annaiyum Pithavum0
- Agathiyar
- Rajaraja Cholan
- Savaal
- Samsaram Adhu Minsaram
- Vallal
- Mr. Madras
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
12 films across 28 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, Lakshmi had 1 films behind them; Manorama had 34.
Before Annaiyum Pithavum, Lakshmi had starred in 1 film, including Jeevanamsam (1968).
After Vallal, Lakshmi went on to appear in 29 more films, including Midhunam (2012) and Kakkai Siraginilae (2000).
Before Annaiyum Pithavum, Manorama had starred in 34 films, including Server Sundaram (1964) and Kalathur Kannamma (1960).
After Vallal, Manorama went on to appear in 42 more films, including Piriyadha Varam Vendum (2001) and Periyar (2007).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Lakshmi & Manorama's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
M. S. Viswanathan scored 4 of them. They worked with the same 6 people again and again — a small repertory company. Goundamani appears alongside them in 3 films — practically a third lead.
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2Other iconic Tamil director-actor duos
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