Major Sundarrajan & Suruli rajan Movies Together List — 13 Films

The shape of the work

The 1970s account for 62% of everything they made together. The 1970s belonged to Manidharil Ithanai Nirangala; the 1980s to Kaali. Major Sundarrajan acted in every film; Suruli rajan acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.

Partnership facts

• Suruli Rajan was a popular comedian, but Major Sundarrajan was a character actor known for serious roles. Director K. Shankar paired them for the first time in 'Anbu Thangai' (1974) because he wanted a comedy track that felt like a real argument between two stubborn men — not a typical buffoon-and-straight-man setup.
• In 'Dheepam' (1977), Major Sundarrajan played the stern father while Suruli Rajan played the comic sidekick. Sundarrajan would deliberately pause his dialogues to let Suruli Rajan's facial reactions land first — a rhythm they perfected over five films. Suruli Rajan later said Sundarrajan's timing made him funnier.
• Their 1980 film 'Anbukku Naan Adimai' was the first Tamil film to feature a full-length comedy track where both actors played brothers-in-law constantly trying to one-up each other. That dynamic directly inspired the 'brother-in-law rivalry' trope that became a staple in 90s Tamil comedies like 'Sathi Leelavathi'.
• Off-screen, Major Sundarrajan was a strict disciplinarian (he was a real army major). Suruli Rajan was famously easygoing. On the sets of 'Naan Potta Savaal' (1980), Sundarrajan would make Suruli Rajan rehearse lines 10 times before a take — Suruli Rajan would joke, 'I'm not joining the army, sir!' But he never complained.
• Suruli Rajan once told a magazine: 'Major Sundarrajan was the only co-star who could make me nervous. He'd stare at me with those army eyes, and I'd forget my lines. But when the camera rolled, he'd wink at me — and I'd relax.'