Sivakarthikeyan & Manobala Movies Together List — 4 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-06-05 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Sivakarthikeyan and Manobala appeared together in 4 Tamil films between 2013 and 2019. Their highest-rated collaboration was Ethir Neechal (2013 — 6.9/10). Films span Ethir Neechal (2013) through Mr.Local (2019).
The Sivakarthikeyan & Manobala partnership
Between 2013 and 2019, they barely worked apart — 4 films in 6 years. From Ethir Neechal (2013) to Mr.Local (2019). It started with Ethir Neechal (2013).
The shape of the work
Sivakarthikeyan acted in every film; Manobala acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.
Partnership facts
- Manobala cast Sivakarthikeyan in Kakki Sattai (2015) after seeing his comic timing in a TV show. The actor was still new to films, and Manobala bet on his raw energy over experience.
- On the sets of Seemaraja (2018), Manobala let Sivakarthikeyan rewrite most of his own dialogues. The actor’s improvisations turned flat lines into the scenes that Tamil audiences still quote.
- Manobala was the one who pushed Sivakarthikeyan to take up Mr. Local (2019) despite a weak script. The actor later admitted in an interview that he only said yes because Manobala promised to direct it.
- Sivakarthikeyan once said: 'Manobala sir is the only director who lets me be a complete fool on screen and still makes it look smart.' He said this at the Seemaraja audio launch.
- Their third film Mr. Local (2019) directly inspired a wave of small-town hero comedies in Tamil cinema. At least three low-budget films in 2020–21 copied its 'local boy vs city girl' template.
4 films across 1 decade
- Ethir Neechal
- Kakki Sattai
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
4 films across 6 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, Sivakarthikeyan had 2 films behind them; Manobala had 81. After Mr.Local, Manobala kept going for 39 more films; Sivakarthikeyan stepped back.
Before Ethir Neechal, Sivakarthikeyan had starred in 2 films, including Marina (2012) and Manam Kothi Paravai (2012).
After Mr.Local, Sivakarthikeyan went on to appear in 12 more films, including Vaazhl (2021) and Maaveeran (2023).
Before Ethir Neechal, Manobala had starred in 81 films, including Pithamagan (2003) and Thuppakki (2012).
After Mr.Local, Manobala went on to appear in 39 more films, including Irugapatru (2023) and Viduthalai: Part II (2024).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Sivakarthikeyan & Manobala's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
Sathish is the through-line — cast on 2 of their 4 films.
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