Ilayaraja & Sulakshana Movies Together List — 16 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-06-04 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Ilayaraja and Sulakshana appeared together in 16 Tamil films between 1982 and 1992. Their highest-rated collaboration was Thooral Ninnu Pochchu (1982 — 7.5/10). Films span Thooral Ninnu Pochchu (1982) through Thambi Pondatti (1992).
The Ilayaraja & Sulakshana partnership
1984 was their peak — 5 films in twelve months. For 10 years, a Ilayaraja–Sulakshana film arrived almost every year. The work is uneven: Thooral Ninnu Pochchu (7.5) at one end, Marudhani (1.0) at the other.
From Thooral Ninnu Pochchu (1982) to Thambi Pondatti (1992). Thooral Ninnu Pochchu is the one most viewers reach for.
The shape of the work
The 1980s account for 75% of everything they made together. The 1980s belonged to Thooral Ninnu Pochchu; the 1990s to Pattukku Naan Adimai. Ilayaraja scored every film; Sulakshana acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.
16 films across 2 decades
The 1980s brought 12 films together, anchored by Thooral Ninnu Pochchu (7.5/10).
The 1990s accounted for 4 films, averaging 6.4/10.
- Thooral Ninnu Pochchu
- Thambikku Entha Ooru
- Pattukku Naan Adimai
- Kizhakku Vasal
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
16 films across 10 years represents consistent collaboration.
Language Distribution
Linguistic diversity: 1 language, with Tamil being their primary medium.
Where each was in their career
84% of Sulakshana's screen credits are with Ilayaraja. After Thambi Pondatti, Ilayaraja kept going for 182 more films; Sulakshana stepped back.
Thooral Ninnu Pochchu was Ilayaraja's acting debut.
After Thambi Pondatti, Ilayaraja went on to appear in 182 more films, including Pithamagan (2003) and Merku Thodarchi Malai (2018).
Thooral Ninnu Pochchu was Sulakshana's acting debut.
After Thambi Pondatti, Sulakshana went on to appear in 3 more films, including Pirappu (2007) and Vana Yuddham (2013).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Ilayaraja & Sulakshana's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
They worked with the same 5 people again and again — a small repertory company. Janagaraj appears alongside them in 5 films — practically a third lead.
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Other iconic Tamil director-actor duos
Discover other partnerships with comparable filmographies and ratings
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