Jaishankar & M. Krishnan Movies Together List — 3 Films

The shape of the work

The 1960s belonged to Muthuchippi; the 1970s to Thalai Prasavam. Jaishankar acted in every film; M. Krishnan directed all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.

Partnership facts

• Jaishankar was already a star when he agreed to do Muthuchippi (1968), but he specifically asked for M. Krishnan as director after seeing his work as an assistant. Krishnan was only 26 at the time — it was his first film as a solo director.
• On the sets of Thalai Prasavam (1973), Krishnan would write dialogue the night before and hand it to Jaishankar at 6 AM. Jaishankar would memorize it in one take and then suggest small tweaks to make the lines sound more natural. Krishnan later said Jaishankar's ear for everyday speech saved him from writing 'stagey' dialogue.
• During the shoot of Magalukkaga (1974), Jaishankar's father passed away. Krishnan quietly took over all production logistics for three days so Jaishankar could attend the funeral without worrying about the schedule. They never spoke about it publicly.
• Muthuchippi (1968) was the first Tamil film to feature a female police officer as a lead character. That role — played by Jayalalithaa — was written by Krishnan specifically because Jaishankar told him 'audiences are tired of the same damsel-in-distress stories.'
• M. Krishnan once told a magazine: 'Jaishankar never asked me why a scene was written a certain way. He just trusted me. That trust made me brave enough to try things no other director was doing in 1968.'