Major Sundarrajan & A.V.M.Rajan Movies Together List — 3 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-06-03 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Major Sundarrajan and A.V.M.Rajan appeared together in 3 Tamil films between 1969 and 1975. Their highest-rated collaboration was Thunaivan (1969 — 7.5/10). Films span Thunaivan (1969) through Thiruvarul (1975).
The Major Sundarrajan & A.V.M.Rajan partnership
From Thunaivan (1969) to Thiruvarul (1975). The played out closed with Thiruvarul in 1975. Thunaivan is the one most viewers reach for.
It started with Thunaivan (1969).
The shape of the work
The 1960s belonged to Thunaivan; the 1970s to Deivam. Major Sundarrajan acted in every film; A.V.M.Rajan acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.
Partnership facts
- Director A. Bhimsingh cast Major Sundarrajan and A.V.M. Rajan together for the first time in 'Thunaivan' (1969) because he wanted a pair of brothers who actually looked like they could be related — Sundarrajan's stern face and Rajan's softer features created the exact visual contrast he needed.
- In 'Deivam' (1972), Sundarrajan played the strict, moral father figure while Rajan played the rebellious son — but on set, Rajan would quietly rehearse his lines with Sundarrajan before every take, because Sundarrajan's booming voice threw off his timing. Sundarrajan would then deliberately lower his volume for Rajan's close-ups.
- Major Sundarrajan was a retired army man who insisted on punctuality. A.V.M. Rajan was famously late. After the first week of 'Thunaivan' (1969), Sundarrajan threatened to walk off unless Rajan showed up on time. Rajan started arriving 15 minutes early for every shoot after that — and the two became close friends over shared filter coffee breaks.
- Their third film 'Thiruvarul' (1975) was the first Tamil film to feature a full-length flashback sequence told entirely through a single song — a technique that director K. S. Gopalakrishnan later admitted he copied from their earlier 'Deivam' (1972) climax scene, where Sundarrajan and Rajan's silent face-off carried the entire emotional weight.
- A.V.M. Rajan once said in a 1980 interview: 'Major Sundarrajan taught me that acting is not about shouting louder than the other person. In 'Thunaivan', he whispered a line to me before a take — and that whisper got more reaction than any scream I ever did.'
3 films across 2 decades
The 1960s brought 1 film together, anchored by Thunaivan (7.5/10).
The 1970s accounted for 2 films, averaging 6.8/10.
- Thunaivan
- Deivam
- Thiruvarul0
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
3 films across 6 years represents consistent collaboration.
Language Distribution
Linguistic diversity: 1 language, with Tamil being their primary medium.
Where each was in their career
After Thiruvarul, Major Sundarrajan kept going for 77 more films; A.V.M.Rajan stepped back. By the time of Thunaivan, both already had careers — Major Sundarrajan with 18 films, A.V.M.Rajan with 13.
Before Thunaivan, Major Sundarrajan had starred in 18 films, including Major Chandrakanth (1966) and Server Sundaram (1964).
After Thiruvarul, Major Sundarrajan went on to appear in 77 more films, including Manidharil Ithanai Nirangala (1978) and Priya (1978).
Before Thunaivan, A.V.M.Rajan had starred in 13 films, including Chakkaram (1968) and Deiveega Uravu (1968).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Major Sundarrajan & A.V.M.Rajan's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
Nagesh is the through-line — cast on 2 of their 3 films.
2
2
2
2
Other iconic Tamil director-actor duos
Discover other partnerships with comparable filmographies and ratings
