Sarath Kumar & Manivannan Movies Together List — 7 Films

The shape of the work

The 1990s account for 86% of everything they made together. The 1990s belonged to Suryavamsam; the 2000s to Samasthanam. Sarath Kumar acted in every film; Manivannan acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.

Partnership facts

• Manivannan didn't just act with Sarath Kumar — he directed him in three of their four films together. The first was Moondravadhu Kann (1993), where Manivannan cast Sarath as the male lead opposite Khushbu. That film flopped hard, but Manivannan stuck with him for Janakiraman (1997) and Simmarasi (1998).
• In Janakiraman (1997), Manivannan played the villain while Sarath Kumar played the hero. But here's the twist: Manivannan wrote the dialogues for that film. So he literally wrote his own lines to make Sarath look stronger on screen. He deliberately made his character more menacing just so Sarath's takedown would hit harder.
• Sarath Kumar has said in interviews that Manivannan was the only co-star who would call him at 5 AM to discuss a scene before the shoot. Manivannan was a notorious early riser, and Sarath — not a morning person — would grumble but always pick up. They'd argue over dialogue delivery for 20 minutes before the sun was fully up.
• Their last film together, Samasthanam (2002), was a political drama. It didn't do well at the box office, but it directly led to Sarath Kumar entering real politics. Manivannan, who was already politically active, pushed Sarath to join the DMK. Sarath later credited that film and Manivannan's nudge for his political career.
• Sarath Kumar once said about Manivannan: 'He never treated me like a co-star. He treated me like a younger brother who needed to be scolded into doing better. I owe my best performances to his shouting.' He said this at Manivannan's memorial event in 2013.