Vadivelu & Madhan Bob Movies Together List — 17 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-07-12 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Vadivelu and Madhan Bob appeared together in 17 Tamil films between 1992 and 2016. Their highest-rated collaboration was ABCD (2005 — 6.8/10). Films span Thevar Magan (1992) through Kaththi Sandai (2016).
The Vadivelu & Madhan Bob partnership
Their work runs across 3 decades of Tamil cinema. 2005 was their peak — 3 films in twelve months. For 24 years, a Vadivelu–Madhan film arrived almost every year.
From Thevar Magan (1992) to Kaththi Sandai (2016). It started with Thevar Magan (1992).
The shape of the work
The 1990s belonged to Thevar Magan; the 2010s to Kaavalan. Vadivelu acted in every film; Madhan Bob acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.
Partnership facts
- Their first film together, Thevar Magan (1992), was a Kamal Haasan production. Vadivelu was a struggling mimicry artist at the time. Madhan Bob was already a stage actor. They met on set and Vadivelu later said Bob taught him how to time a pause.
- In Friends (2001), Vadivelu played the fast-talking sidekick while Madhan Bob played the slow, bewildered foil. Bob would deliberately flub his lines to make Vadivelu improvise on the spot. The director kept those takes because the confusion looked real.
- Madhan Bob once revealed in an interview that Vadivelu would call him 'anna' (elder brother) on every set, even though Bob was only a few years older. They shared a room during the shoot of Kaathala Kaathala (1998) because the budget was too tight for separate rooms.
- The comedy track in Friends (2001) — where Vadivelu and Madhan Bob play two guys trying to impress a girl — became a template for a dozen later Tamil comedies. Director Siddique directly credited their rhythm for inspiring the 'double act' trend in early 2000s Tamil cinema.
- Madhan Bob once said: 'Vadivelu doesn't act with you. He acts at you. I had to learn to just stand still and let his energy bounce off me. That's why our scenes worked.'
- In Kusthi (2006), their only scene together was a 12-minute single-shot argument. Vadivelu kept changing his dialogue mid-sentence. Madhan Bob matched him by switching his body language — from angry to confused to laughing — without a single cut. The editor said they didn't need to touch it.
17 films across 3 decades
The 1990s accounted for 6 films, averaging 5.0/10.
The 2000s accounted for 8 films, averaging 5.3/10.
The 2010s accounted for 3 films, averaging 4.6/10.
- Thevar Magan
- Kaathala Kaathala
- ABCD
- Friends
- Kaavalan
- Kaththi Sandai
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
17 films across 24 years represents consistent collaboration.
Language Distribution
Linguistic diversity: 1 language, with Tamil being their primary medium.
Where each was in their career
63% of Vadivelu's screen credits are with Madhan Bob.
Before Thevar Magan, Vadivelu had starred in 1 film, including Aatha Un Koyilile (1991).
After Kaththi Sandai, Vadivelu went on to appear in 9 more films, including Sivalinga (2017) and Mersal (2017).
Before Thevar Magan, Madhan Bob had starred in 1 film, including Neengal Kettavai (1984).
After Kaththi Sandai, Madhan Bob went on to appear in 16 more films, including Kalasal (2019) and Nagesh Thiraiyarangam (2018).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Vadivelu & Madhan Bob's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
They worked with the same 7 people again and again — a small repertory company. Aarthi appears alongside them in 3 films — practically a third lead.
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