Vijay & Ponnambalam Movies Together List — 4 Films

The shape of the work

The 1990s belonged to Sendhoorapandi; the 2000s to Ghilli. Vijay acted in every film; Ponnambalam acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.

Partnership facts

• In Ghilli (2004), Vijay and Ponnambalam faced off in the climax fight that Tamil audiences still whistle for — Ponnambalam's 'Muthupandi' became the template for every 'bully with a chain' villain in Vijay's 2000s films.
• Their first film together, Sendhoorapandi (1993), was a turning point for both — it was Vijay's first solo hit as a lead and Ponnambalam's first major villain role that got him noticed beyond character parts.
• Ghilli (2004) was their biggest collaboration — it ran for over 200 days in theaters and became Vijay's first film to cross ₹50 crore at the box office, with Ponnambalam's villain role a key reason for the repeat audience.
• In Chandralekha (1995), their only film where they weren't hero-villain — Ponnambalam played a comedic sidekick to Vijay, and the scene where he tries to teach Vijay how to flirt is still shared as a meme in Tamil fan groups.
• Ponnambalam once said in an interview: 'Vijay was the only hero who never asked me to tone down my screen presence. He said, 'Let the villain be strong, then my victory means something.'
• After Ghilli (2004), Ponnambalam never played a main villain in a Vijay film again — their on-screen rivalry was so definitive that directors felt audiences had already seen the 'ultimate' Vijay vs Ponnambalam clash.