Sridev & Major Sundarrajan Movies Together List — 3 Films

The shape of the work

The 1960s belonged to Thunaivan; the 1970s to Kalyanaraman. Sridev acted in every film; Major Sundarrajan acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.

Partnership facts

• For Thunaivan (1969), director K. Balachander paired Sridevi and Major Sundarrajan for the first time. Sridevi was just a child star then, and Sundarrajan was a seasoned stage actor. Balachander later said he cast them together because Sundarrajan's disciplined timing would keep the young Sridevi grounded on set.
• In Vasantha Maligai (1972), Sundarrajan played a strict father opposite Sridevi's rebellious daughter. The film's emotional climax — where Sundarrajan breaks down and Sridevi runs to him — was shot in one take. Sundarrajan later told a magazine that Sridevi's raw crying made him forget his lines for a second, and he had to look away to stay in character.
• Kalyanaraman (1979) was the only comedy they did together. Its success directly led to Sundarrajan being cast in more comic roles in the 1980s, changing his image from a serious character actor. Sridevi's comic timing in that film also caught the eye of Hindi filmmakers, who soon signed her for her first Bollywood comedy.
• On the sets of Thunaivan, Sundarrajan would bring homemade snacks for Sridevi every day. She was a child and missed her mother, so he told her stories between shots. They stayed in touch until his death in 2003 — she called him 'Mama' (uncle) even after she became a superstar.
• Sridevi once said in a 1990s interview: 'Major Sundarrajan sir taught me how to cry on cue. He would whisper a sad story in my ear just before the camera rolled. I never needed glycerin after working with him.'