Ilayaraja & Poornam Viswanathan Movies Together List — 18 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-06-02 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Ilayaraja and Poornam Viswanathan appeared together in 18 Tamil films between 1979 and 1994. Their highest-rated collaboration was Naan Vazhavaippen (1979 — 7.5/10). Films span Naan Vazhavaippen (1979) through Mahanadi (1994).
The Ilayaraja & Poornam Viswanathan partnership
Their work runs across 3 decades of Tamil cinema. 1985 was their peak — 5 films in twelve months. For 15 years, a Ilayaraja–Poornam film arrived almost every year.
The work is uneven: Naan Vazhavaippen (7.5) at one end, Keladi Kanmani (3.3) at the other. From Naan Vazhavaippen (1979) to Mahanadi (1994).
The shape of the work
The 1980s account for 72% of everything they made together. The 1970s belonged to Naan Vazhavaippen; the 1990s to Mahanadi. Ilayaraja scored every film; Poornam Viswanathan acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.
18 films across 3 decades
The 1970s brought 1 film together, anchored by Naan Vazhavaippen (7.5/10).
The 1980s brought 13 films together, anchored by Payanangal Mudivathillai (7.5/10).
The 1990s accounted for 4 films, averaging 4.0/10.
- Naan Vazhavaippen
- Payanangal Mudivathillai
- Moondru Mugam
- Mahanadi
- Meera
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
18 films across 15 years represents consistent collaboration.
Language Distribution
Linguistic diversity: 1 language, with Tamil being their primary medium.
Where each was in their career
67% of Poornam Viswanathan's screen credits are with Ilayaraja. After Mahanadi, Ilayaraja kept going for 118 more films; Poornam Viswanathan stepped back.
Naan Vazhavaippen was Ilayaraja's acting debut.
After Mahanadi, Ilayaraja went on to appear in 118 more films, including Pithamagan (2003) and Merku Thodarchi Malai (2018).
Before Naan Vazhavaippen, Poornam Viswanathan had starred in 7 films, including Rickshawkaran (1971) and Naan Avanillai (1974).
After Mahanadi, Poornam Viswanathan went on to appear in 2 more films, including Thamizh (2002) and Aasai (1995).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Ilayaraja & Poornam Viswanathan's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
They worked with the same 10 people again and again — a small repertory company. Janagaraj appears alongside them in 7 films — practically a third lead.
7
6
6
5
5
4
4
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
Other iconic Tamil director-actor duos
Discover other partnerships with comparable filmographies and ratings
