Mohan & Thengai Srinivasan Movies Together List — 8 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-06-03 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Mohan and Thengai Srinivasan appeared together in 8 Tamil films between 1983 and 1987. Their highest-rated collaboration was Nooravathu Naal (1984 — 7.5/10). Films span Saranalayam (1983) through Krishnan Vandhan (1987).
The Mohan & Thengai Srinivasan partnership
Between 1983 and 1987, they barely worked apart — 8 films in 4 years. 1984 was their peak — 3 films in twelve months. For 4 years, a Mohan–Thengai film arrived almost every year.
From Saranalayam (1983) to Krishnan Vandhan (1987). The unfolded closed with Krishnan Vandhan in 1987.
The shape of the work
Mohan acted in every film; Thengai Srinivasan acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.
Partnership facts
- Mohan was the one who insisted on casting Thengai Srinivasan in 'Saranalayam' (1983). The director wanted a younger comedian. Mohan fought for him, saying only Thengai could pull off the role of a bumbling temple priest with pathos.
- In 'Nooravathu Naal' (1984), Thengai Srinivasan improvised an entire monologue about a missing goat during a murder investigation scene. Mohan, playing the straight man, kept a straight face but later admitted he nearly broke character because Thengai kept adding new goat sounds between takes.
- During the shoot of 'Osai' (1984), Mohan and Thengai shared a room in a small lodge in Kodaikanal. Every night, Thengai would rehearse his lines aloud while Mohan slept. Mohan never complained — he said it helped him memorize his own cues.
- Their double-act in 'Krishnan Vandhan' (1987) directly inspired the comedy track in the 1990s TV serial 'Chinna Chinna Aasai' — the writer later said he modeled the bickering landlord-tenant duo after their on-screen rhythm.
- Mohan once said in a 1995 interview: 'Thengai Srinivasan didn't just make me laugh on screen. He taught me how to react without overacting. Every pause I took in a comedy scene was because of him.'
8 films across 1 decade
- Nooravathu Naal
- Thendrale Ennai Thodu
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
8 films across 4 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, Mohan had 14 films behind them; Thengai Srinivasan had 120. After Krishnan Vandhan, Mohan kept going for 16 more films; Thengai Srinivasan stepped back.
Before Saranalayam, Mohan had starred in 14 films, including Nenjathai Killadhe (1980) and Moodupani (1980).
After Krishnan Vandhan, Mohan went on to appear in 16 more films, including Sutta Pazham (2008) and Jothi (2022).
Before Saranalayam, Thengai Srinivasan had starred in 120 films, including Aarilirunthu Arubathu Varai (1979) and Priya (1978).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Mohan & Thengai Srinivasan's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
Ilayaraja is the through-line — music on 6 of their 8 films. Ilayaraja scored 6 of them. Nalini appears alongside them in 4 films — practically a third lead.
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