Thengai Srinivasan & Major Sundarrajan Movies Together List — 33 Films

The shape of the work

The 1960s belonged to Ethir Neechal; the 1980s to Billa. Major Sundarrajan actor in some, director in others. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.

Partnership facts

• Their first film together, Komatha En Kulamatha (1973), was a low-budget village drama. Director A. C. Tirulokchandar paired them because he needed two actors who could switch between comedy and pathos without missing a beat — and both had that rare skill.
• In Aadu Puli Attam (1977), Thengai Srinivasan played the comic sidekick while Major Sundarrajan played the stern father figure. The trick was that Sundarrajan would set a serious tone, and Srinivasan would undercut it with a deadpan line — they never stepped on each other's timing.
• Their 1978 film Priya (7.8/10) was a breakthrough for actress Sridevi in Tamil cinema. The film's success directly led to her being cast in bigger roles — and both Srinivasan and Sundarrajan were credited by the director for holding the emotional core that let her shine.
• On the sets of Thirisoolam (1979), the two developed a ritual: before every scene together, they'd share a single cigarette, passing it back and forth. Sundarrajan later said it was their way of syncing energy without talking.
• Major Sundarrajan once said about Thengai Srinivasan: 'He could make you laugh with just a raised eyebrow. I had to work twice as hard to keep a straight face opposite him.'
• In Naan Vazhavaippen (1979), they played brothers with opposing worldviews — one a reckless dreamer, the other a cautious realist. The director let them improvise the climactic argument scene. Srinivasan pushed the emotion, Sundarrajan pulled it back, and the final take was a single, unbroken shot.