Jaishankar & A.V.M.Rajan Movies Together List — 4 Films

The shape of the work

The 1960s belonged to Teecharamma; the 1970s to Anbu Sagodharargal. Jaishankar acted in every film; A.V.M.Rajan acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.

Partnership facts

• They first shared screen space in 'Teecharamma' (1968) because director M.A. Thirumugam needed a pair who could handle both action and emotion. Jaishankar was already a star; A.V.M.Rajan was still finding his footing. The director bet on Rajan's intensity to match Jaishankar's cool — and it worked.
• In 'Mannippu' (1969), Jaishankar played the calm, measured brother while A.V.M.Rajan played the hot-headed one. Rajan later said in an interview that Jaishankar would deliberately slow down his dialogue delivery in their scenes together, forcing Rajan to match his rhythm — which made their conflict scenes feel more real.
• During the shoot of 'Anbu Sagodharargal' (1973), Jaishankar and A.V.M.Rajan shared a room in a small lodge in Tenkasi for three weeks. They would rehearse their scenes at night by candlelight because the power would go off. Rajan later told a fan club that Jaishankar taught him how to time a punch for the camera.
• Their fourth and final film together, 'Magalukkaga' (1974), was the first Tamil film to feature a then-unknown actor named Rajinikanth in a minor role. Rajan recommended him to the director after seeing him on stage. That one film gave Tamil cinema its next superstar.
• A.V.M.Rajan once said: 'Jaishankar was like an elder brother to me on set. He never made me feel like a junior artist. He'd say, "You take the close-up, I'll stand behind you." That's rare in this industry.' — from a 1982 interview with 'Kumudam' magazine.