Ravichandran & R. S. Manohar Movies Together List — 4 Films

The shape of the work

The 1960s belonged to Naan; the 1970s to Justice Viswanathan. Ravichandran acted in every film; R. S. Manohar acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.

Partnership facts

• Ravichandran was the bigger star when they first paired up in 1967. Manohar was still finding his footing. But Ravichandran insisted on casting him for 'Edhirigal Jakkiradhai' after watching him in a stage play — he told the director, 'He'll steal every scene, and that's exactly what this film needs.'
• On set, Ravichandran would deliberately slow down his dialogue delivery to match Manohar's measured, theatrical rhythm. Manohar later said, 'He knew I came from the stage and needed that extra beat. He gave it to me without ever asking.' That pacing became the signature of their scenes together.
• Their 1971 film 'Justice Viswanathan' directly inspired the courtroom drama boom in Tamil cinema. Two years later, Sivaji Ganesan's 'Thanga Pathakkam' borrowed its central father-son legal conflict — a plot thread that started with Ravichandran and Manohar's face-off in that film.
• After 'Meendum Vazhven' (1971), they never spoke again. No fight, no fallout — just drifted apart. Manohar once told a journalist, 'We were never friends. We were two actors who respected each other's craft. That respect didn't need phone calls.'
• Ravichandran said in a 1985 interview: 'Manohar was the only actor who made me nervous before a scene. I'd rehearse twice as hard when I knew he was opposite me. He never raised his voice, but his eyes did all the shouting.'