Nizhalgal Ravi & Kamal Haasan Movies Together List — 4 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-06-03 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Nizhalgal Ravi and Kamal Haasan appeared together in 4 Tamil films between 1987 and 1996. Their highest-rated collaboration was Indian (1996 — 8.2/10). Films span Nayagan (1987) through Indian (1996).
The Nizhalgal Ravi & Kamal Haasan partnership
One film towers over the rest: Indian at 8.2/10. They saved their best for last — Indian (8.2/10) came 9 years in. From Nayagan (1987) to Indian (1996).
It started with Nayagan (1987). Indian is the one most viewers reach for.
The shape of the work
The 1990s account for 75% of everything they made together. The 1980s belonged to Nayagan; the 1990s to Indian. Nizhalgal Ravi acted in every film; Kamal Haasan acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.
Partnership facts
- Kamal Haasan personally called Nizhalgal Ravi to offer him the role of the ruthless cop in Kuruthipunal (1995). Ravi was so shocked that Kamal knew his name that he almost dropped the phone.
- In Nayagan (1987), Nizhalgal Ravi played a police officer who tortures Kamal's character. Ravi later said Kamal insisted they rehearse the interrogation scene 12 times before shooting — not to get the lines right, but to make Ravi's anger feel real and unpredictable.
- On the set of Indian (1996), Kamal would deliberately stay in character as the old freedom fighter Senapathy even during lunch breaks. Nizhalgal Ravi later admitted it creeped him out so much that he started eating alone — which Kamal used to make their confrontation scenes more tense.
- After Kuruthipunal wrapped, Nizhalgal Ravi gifted Kamal a handmade wooden pen. Kamal still uses that pen to sign contracts — Ravi confirmed this in a 2018 interview.
- "Kamal doesn't just act with you. He acts at you. He pulls a performance out of you whether you're ready or not." — Nizhalgal Ravi, in a 2016 retrospective on Nayagan.
4 films across 2 decades
The 1980s accounted for 1 film, averaging 5.8/10.
The 1990s brought 3 films together, anchored by Indian (8.2/10).
- Nayagan
- Indian
- Kuruthipunal
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
4 films across 9 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, Nizhalgal Ravi had 16 films behind them; Kamal Haasan had 122. After Indian, Nizhalgal Ravi kept going for 102 more films; Kamal Haasan stepped back.
Before Nayagan, Nizhalgal Ravi had starred in 16 films, including Nizhalgal (1980) and Mann Vasanai (1983).
After Indian, Nizhalgal Ravi went on to appear in 102 more films, including Ratsasan (2018) and Andhadhi (2015).
Before Nayagan, Kamal Haasan had starred in 122 films, including Enakkul Oruvan (1984) and Enakkul Oruvan (1984).
After Indian, Kamal Haasan went on to appear in 46 more films, including Anbe Sivam (2003) and Vikram (2022).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Nizhalgal Ravi & Kamal Haasan's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
Goundamani is the through-line — cast on 2 of their 4 films.
2
2
2
2
Other iconic Tamil director-actor duos
Discover other partnerships with comparable filmographies and ratings
