Nizhalgal Ravi & Goundamani Movies Together List — 11 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-06-04 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Nizhalgal Ravi and Goundamani appeared together in 11 Tamil films between 1985 and 1997. Their highest-rated collaboration was Indian (1996 — 8.2/10). Films span Pagal Nilavu (1985) through Sishya (1997).
The Nizhalgal Ravi & Goundamani partnership
1995 was their peak — 3 films in twelve months. They saved their best for last — Indian (8.2/10) came 11 years in. From Pagal Nilavu (1985) to Sishya (1997).
For 12 years, a Nizhalgal–Goundamani film arrived almost every year. The work is uneven: Indian (8.2) at one end, Sishya (3.3) at the other.
The shape of the work
The 1990s account for 82% of everything they made together. The 1980s belonged to Pagal Nilavu; the 1990s to Indian. Nizhalgal Ravi acted in every film; Goundamani acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.
Partnership facts
- They first shared screen space in Neengalum Herodhan (1990), a comedy where Goundamani played a thief and Ravi played a cop. The director said he cast them specifically because their real-life height difference (Ravi is tall, Goundamani is short) would make the chase scenes funnier.
- In Amman Kovil Thiruvizha (1990), Goundamani kept breaking into spontaneous one-liners during Ravi's serious dialogue scenes. Ravi later admitted he had to train himself to not laugh on set — and that Goundamani's improvisation actually made his own performance sharper because he had to stay in character no matter what.
- During the shoot of Naan Peththa Magane (1995), Goundamani would drive Ravi home every night after pack-up because Ravi didn't own a car then. They'd stop at the same tea stall near Kodambakkam and argue about cricket scores for 20 minutes before heading off.
- Goundamani once told a magazine: 'Ravi is the only actor who can deliver a serious line while I'm pulling faces behind him — and still make the audience believe he's serious.' He said this in a 1997 interview for Sishya's release.
- Their pairing in Indian (1996) — where Ravi played the villain's henchman and Goundamani played a comic sidekick — directly inspired director Shankar to cast them together again in a similar dynamic for a scrapped project called 'Mugavari' that never got made.
11 films across 2 decades
The 1980s accounted for 2 films, averaging 3.8/10.
The 1990s brought 9 films together, anchored by Indian (8.2/10).
- Pagal Nilavu
- December Pookal0
- Indian
- Chinna Vathiyar
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
11 films across 12 years represents consistent collaboration.
Language Distribution
Linguistic diversity: 1 language, with Tamil being their primary medium.
Where each was in their career
After Sishya, Nizhalgal Ravi kept going for 99 more films; Goundamani stepped back.
Before Pagal Nilavu, Nizhalgal Ravi had starred in 6 films, including Nizhalgal (1980) and Mann Vasanai (1983).
After Sishya, Nizhalgal Ravi went on to appear in 99 more films, including Ratsasan (2018) and Andhadhi (2015).
Before Pagal Nilavu, Goundamani had starred in 27 films, including Server Sundaram (1964) and Padhinaru Vayadhiniley (1977).
After Sishya, Goundamani went on to appear in 29 more films, including Kanne Kalaimaane (2019) and Vedham (2001).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Nizhalgal Ravi & Goundamani's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
Ilayaraja is the through-line — music on 6 of their 11 films. Senthil appears alongside them in 3 films — practically a third lead. Ilayaraja scored 6 of them.
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
6
2
Other iconic Tamil director-actor duos
Discover other partnerships with comparable filmographies and ratings
