Rajinikanth & Radha Movies Together List — 6 Films

The shape of the work

Rajinikanth acted in every film; Radha acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.

Partnership facts

• Rajinikanth and Radha first paired up in Enkeyo Ketta Kural (1982) because the director, S. P. Muthuraman, wanted a fresh combo. Radha was just 17 and Rajini was already a star — he reportedly told the team, 'She’s young but she’ll hold her own.' That film set the template for their six-film run.
• In Paayum Puli (1983), Rajini and Radha developed a silent shorthand: he would slow down his dialogue delivery by half a beat so her reactions could land first. She, in turn, matched his energy in fight scenes — the climax where she throws a knife to him mid-brawl was done in one take because they rehearsed the timing for two hours.
• Their film Naan Mahaan Alla (1984) directly inspired the 2010 Vijay-starrer of the same name. The original’s mother-son emotional core was so tied to Radha’s performance as the protective mother that the remake kept her character arc almost intact — even though Radha didn’t reprise the role.
• Off-screen, Rajini and Radha had a running joke: every time they finished a film, he’d hand her a single jasmine flower and say, 'Next one, same time.' She kept all six flowers in a box until her retirement. She revealed this in a 2019 interview, laughing that he never once forgot.
• Radha once said about Rajini: 'He never treated me like a junior artiste. In Thudikkum Karangal (1983), I was nervous about a crying scene. He sat with me for 20 minutes, told me a sad story from his own life, and walked away. I cried on cue. That’s the kind of co-star he was.'
• In Sigappu Suriyan (1983), Rajini and Radha swapped their usual dynamic: she played the aggressive, street-smart character while he was the brooding, silent type. Radha later said that Rajini insisted on this reversal because he wanted to 'see what she could do with the upper hand.' The film’s most famous scene — her slapping him — was his idea.