Chinni Jayanth & Charlie Movies Together List — 15 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-07-13 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Chinni Jayanth and Charlie appeared together in 15 Tamil films between 1988 and 2009. Their highest-rated collaboration was Piriyadha Varam Vendum (2001 — 7.5/10). Films span Nallavan (1988) through Enga Raasi Nalla Raasi (2009).
The Chinni Jayanth & Charlie partnership
Their work runs across 3 decades of Tamil cinema. After 8 years apart, they came back together for Enga Raasi Nalla Raasi (2009). They didn't share a set between 2001 and 2009.
For 21 years, a Chinni–Charlie film arrived almost every year. The work is uneven: Piriyadha Varam Vendum (7.5) at one end, Nallavan (1.0) at the other.
The shape of the work
The 1990s account for 73% of everything they made together. The 1980s belonged to Nallavan; the 2000s to Piriyadha Varam Vendum. Chinni Jayanth acted in every film; Charlie acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.
Partnership facts
- Chinni Jayanth was a popular mimicry artist before acting. Charlie was a stage comedian. Director Manivannan saw them perform separately and decided to pair them in 'Nallavan' (1988) — he wanted two comedians who could also handle emotional scenes. That film became their first together.
- In 'Vaigasi Poranthachu' (1990), Chinni Jayanth played the straight man to Charlie's over-the-top antics. Charlie would improvise punchlines on set, and Chinni would react in real time — no retakes. The director let them run the scene because the spontaneity worked.
- They were close friends off-screen. On the sets of 'Mudhal Kural' (1992), they shared a room during the entire shoot. Charlie would wake Chinni up at 5 AM to rehearse dialogues — a ritual they kept for every film together.
- Their comedy track in 'Seevalaperi Pandi' (1994) was so popular that the film's producer asked them to extend it by 10 minutes during post-production. That extended version became a template for double-act comedies in Tamil cinema in the mid-90s.
- Charlie once said in an interview: 'Chinni is the only person who can make me laugh even when I'm angry. We never had a single fight on set.'
- In 'Piriyadha Varam Vendum' (2001), they swapped roles — Charlie played the serious friend, Chinni the comic relief. The director said they insisted on the switch to challenge themselves. It worked: the film got the highest rating among their collaborations.
15 films across 3 decades
The 1980s accounted for 1 film, averaging 1.0/10.
The 1990s brought 11 films together, anchored by Mudhal Kural (7.1/10).
The 2000s brought 3 films together, anchored by Piriyadha Varam Vendum (7.5/10).
- Nallavan
- Mudhal Kural
- Endrum Anbudan
- Piriyadha Varam Vendum
- Unnai Kodu Ennai Tharuven
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
15 films across 21 years represents consistent collaboration.
Language Distribution
Linguistic diversity: 1 language, with Tamil being their primary medium.
Where each was in their career
42% of Chinni Jayanth's screen credits are with Charlie.
Before Nallavan, Chinni Jayanth had starred in 6 films, including Muthal Vasantham (1986) and Kai Kodukkum Kai (1984).
After Enga Raasi Nalla Raasi, Chinni Jayanth went on to appear in 15 more films, including Boat (2024) and Yaadhum Oore Yaavarum Kelir (2023).
Before Nallavan, Charlie had starred in 25 films, including Enakkul Oruvan (1984) and Kalyana Agathigal (1985).
After Enga Raasi Nalla Raasi, Charlie went on to appear in 28 more films, including Papanasam (2015) and Maanagaram (2017).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Chinni Jayanth & Charlie's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
Charle is the through-line — cast on 12 of their 15 films. Deva scored 5 of them. They worked with the same 11 people again and again — a small repertory company.
12
5
4
4
3
3
3
3
3
22
2
2
2
2
2
2
5
3
2
Other iconic Tamil director-actor duos
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