Rajinikanth & Suhasini Maniratnam Movies Together List — 3 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-07-13 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Rajinikanth and Suhasini Maniratnam appeared together in 3 Tamil films between 1983 and 1988. Their highest-rated collaboration was Thaiveedu (1983 — 6.5/10). Films span Uruvangal Maralam (1983) through Dharmathin Thalaivan (1988).
The Rajinikanth & Suhasini Maniratnam partnership
From Uruvangal Maralam (1983) to Dharmathin Thalaivan (1988). The played out closed with Dharmathin Thalaivan in 1988. It started with Uruvangal Maralam (1983).
The shape of the work
Rajinikanth acted in every film; Suhasini Maniratnam acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.
Partnership facts
- Their pairing in Dharmathin Thalaivan (1988) was so well-liked that director Mani Ratnam — Suhasini's husband — wrote a role specifically for Rajinikanth in his next film. That film was Thalapathi (1991).
- Suhasini was already a star when she signed Uruvangal Maralam (1983). Rajinikanth was still shaking off his villain image. She pushed the director to cast him as the lead — she believed he could carry a film on his own.
- On the sets of Thaiveedu (1983), Rajinikanth would deliberately flub his lines to make Suhasini laugh. She'd then improvise a comeback. That back-and-forth became the film's most replayed scene — two actors trying to crack each other up on camera.
- Suhasini once said Rajinikanth would call her 'Akka' (elder sister) on set, even though she was younger. He did it to keep things professional — he was nervous around her because she was so well-spoken in English and Tamil.
- Suhasini said in a 2018 interview: 'Rajini was the only co-star who would rehearse with me at 5 AM. He didn't have to. He just wanted the scene to be perfect for both of us.'
3 films across 1 decade
- Thaiveedu
- Dharmathin Thalaivan
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
3 films across 5 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, Rajinikanth had 57 films behind them; Suhasini Maniratnam had 13.
Before Uruvangal Maralam, Rajinikanth had starred in 57 films, including Padhinaru Vayadhiniley (1977) and Aarilirunthu Arubathu Varai (1979).
After Dharmathin Thalaivan, Rajinikanth went on to appear in 52 more films, including Robot (2010) and Petta (2019).
Before Uruvangal Maralam, Suhasini Maniratnam had starred in 13 films, including Nenjathai Killadhe (1980) and Gopurangal Saivathillai (1982).
After Dharmathin Thalaivan, Suhasini Maniratnam went on to appear in 61 more films, including Gurtunda Seetakalam (2022) and Amma (1991).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Rajinikanth & Suhasini Maniratnam's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
Jaishankar is the through-line — cast on 2 of their 3 films.
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