Samuthirakani & Aruldoss Movies Together List — 9 Films

The shape of the work

The 2010s account for 67% of everything they made together. The 2010s belonged to Peranbu; the 2020s to Pulikkuthi Pandi. Samuthirakani acted in every film; Aruldoss acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.

Partnership facts

• Samuthirakani personally recommended Aruldoss for a key role in 'Massu Engira Masilamani' (2015) after the director struggled to find the right actor. That film kicked off their five-movie run.
• In 'Kaala' (2018), Samuthirakani played the younger Rajinikanth, while Aruldoss played his loyal friend. Their real-life age gap (Samuthirakani is older) was flipped on screen — Aruldoss had to act older and more protective, which he pulled off by mimicking Samuthirakani's own mannerisms from their off-screen friendship.
• During the shoot of 'Peranbu' (2019), Aruldoss would drive Samuthirakani home every night after pack-up, even though their routes were opposite. Samuthirakani later said those drives helped them rehearse the next day's emotional scenes without the crew around.
• Aruldoss once said in an interview: 'Samuthirakani doesn't just act with you — he directs you from inside the scene. I learned to listen more because of him.'
• Their pairing in 'Peranbu' (2019) — where Samuthirakani played a single father and Aruldoss his mute son — directly inspired a short film by a Chennai-based filmmaker that went viral in 2020, titled 'Mounam Pesum'.
• In 'Paayum Puli' (2015), they played rivals for the first and only time. Samuthirakani deliberately pushed Aruldoss to improvise during their confrontation scene — Aruldoss ended up breaking a real glass prop, which made the final cut because the director loved the raw reaction.