Vadivelu & Manobala Movies Together List — 13 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-07-12 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Vadivelu and Manobala appeared together in 13 Tamil films between 2003 and 2022. Their highest-rated collaboration was Thalai Nagaram (2006 — 6.7/10). Films span Diwan (2003) through Naai Sekar (2022).
The Vadivelu & Manobala partnership
Their work runs across 3 decades of Tamil cinema. After 8 years apart, they came back together for Naai Sekar (2022). 2006 was their peak — 3 films in twelve months.
They didn't share a set between 2014 and 2022. For 19 years, a Vadivelu–Manobala film arrived almost every year.
The shape of the work
The 2000s account for 77% of everything they made together. The 2000s belonged to Thalai Nagaram; the 2020s to Naai Sekar. Vadivelu acted in every film; Manobala acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.
Partnership facts
- Manobala didn't just direct Vadivelu in 'Diwan' (2003) — he actually discovered him for the big screen. Before that, Vadivelu was a TV mimicry artist. Manobala saw his potential and gave him his first proper film break.
- In 'Thalai Nagaram' (2006), Manobala let Vadivelu improvise entire stretches of dialogue. The result? Vadivelu's character 'Kovilpatti Veeraiya' became a cult favorite — most of the lines were written on the spot by Vadivelu, with Manobala just rolling camera.
- Their 2014 film 'Tenaliraman' directly inspired a wave of historical-comedy spoofs in Tamil cinema. After its success, at least three other producers tried to replicate the formula — but none matched the timing Vadivelu and Manobala had together.
- Manobala and Vadivelu had a standing rule: no matter how bad the film's reviews were, they'd share a drink after the first-day-first-show. They did this for all seven films, even the ones that bombed like 'Villu' (2009).
13 films across 3 decades
The 2000s accounted for 10 films, averaging 5.6/10.
The 2010s accounted for 2 films, averaging 5.5/10.
The 2020s accounted for 1 film, averaging 6.6/10.
- Thalai Nagaram
- Vathiyar
- Tenaliraman
- Mambattiyan
- Naai Sekar
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
13 films across 19 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, Vadivelu had 98 films behind them; Manobala had 30.
Before Diwan, Vadivelu had starred in 98 films, including Kizhakku Cheemayile (1993) and Piriyadha Varam Vendum (2001).
After Naai Sekar, Vadivelu went on to appear in 4 more films, including Maareesan (2025) and Maamannan (2023).
Before Diwan, Manobala had starred in 30 films, including Gopurangal Saivathillai (1982) and Puthiya Vaarpugal (1979).
After Naai Sekar, Manobala went on to appear in 17 more films, including Irugapatru (2023) and Viduthalai: Part II (2024).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Vadivelu & Manobala's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
D. Imman scored 4 of them. They worked with the same 8 people again and again — a small repertory company. Prakash Raj appears alongside them in 4 films — practically a third lead.
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