Murali & Vijayakumar Movies Together List — 10 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-07-13 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Murali and Vijayakumar appeared together in 10 Tamil films between 1989 and 2005. Their highest-rated collaboration was Ninaivu Chinnam (1989 — 8.0/10). Films span Ninaivu Chinnam (1989) through Majaa (2005).
The Murali & Vijayakumar partnership
Their work runs across 3 decades of Tamil cinema. From Ninaivu Chinnam (1989) to Majaa (2005). Thanga Manasukkaran (1992, 7.5/10) is the underseen one in the catalogue.
Ninaivu Chinnam is the one most viewers reach for. The spanned closed with Majaa in 2005.
The shape of the work
The 1990s account for 60% of everything they made together. The 1980s belonged to Ninaivu Chinnam; the 2000s to Majaa. Murali acted in every film; Vijayakumar acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.
Partnership facts
- Vijayakumar once said in a 1999 interview: 'Murali is the only co-star who would call me at 2 AM just to ask if I'd eaten dinner. He treated me like family, not a colleague.'
- Murali was the one who pushed for Vijayakumar to play the lead in Ninaivu Chinnam (1989). The director wanted a bigger name, but Murali insisted Vijayakumar had the right intensity for the role. That film became their first hit together.
- On the sets of Sirayil Sila Raagangal (1990), Murali would deliberately mess up his lines in the first take just to make Vijayakumar laugh. Vijayakumar said it broke his tension and helped him deliver a more natural performance in the next take.
- During the shoot of Adharmam (1994), Murali and Vijayakumar shared a room in a small lodge in Tenkasi for three weeks. They cooked their own meals because the hotel food gave both of them stomach issues. They never told the crew.
- En Aasai Rasave (1998) was the only film where Murali and Vijayakumar played brothers on screen. That film directly inspired director Cheran to cast them as siblings in his later project, though that never materialized.
- In Desiya Geetham (1998), Murali and Vijayakumar swapped roles for one scene without telling the director. Murali played Vijayakumar's part and vice versa. The director only noticed during dubbing and kept the take because it worked.
10 films across 3 decades
The 1980s brought 1 film together, anchored by Ninaivu Chinnam (8.0/10).
The 1990s brought 6 films together, anchored by Thanga Manasukkaran (7.5/10).
The 2000s accounted for 3 films, averaging 4.9/10.
- Ninaivu Chinnam
- Thanga Manasukkaran
- Idhayam
- Majaa
- Aanandham
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
10 films across 16 years represents consistent collaboration.
Language Distribution
Linguistic diversity: 1 language, with Tamil being their primary medium.
Where each was in their career
When they first worked together, Murali had 17 films behind them; Vijayakumar had 71. After Majaa, Vijayakumar kept going for 39 more films; Murali stepped back.
Before Ninaivu Chinnam, Murali had starred in 17 films, including Poovilangu (1984) and Mannukkul Vairam (1986).
After Majaa, Murali went on to appear in 7 more films, including Baana Kaathadi (2010) and Oru Oorla (2014).
Before Ninaivu Chinnam, Vijayakumar had starred in 71 films, including Aval Oru Thodar Kathai (1974) and Sandhippu (1983).
After Majaa, Vijayakumar went on to appear in 39 more films, including Entha Manchivaadavuraa (2020) and Chennaiyil Oru Naal (2013).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Murali & Vijayakumar's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
Ilayaraja is the through-line — music on 6 of their 10 films. Manivannan appears alongside them in 3 films — practically a third lead. Ilayaraja scored 6 of them.
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
6
2
