Rajinikanth & V. S. Raghavan Movies Together List — 7 Films

The shape of the work

The 1980s account for 71% of everything they made together. The 1970s belonged to En Kelvikku Enna Bathil; the 1980s to Kai Kodukkum Kai. Rajinikanth acted in every film; V. S. Raghavan acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.

Partnership facts

• Rajinikanth was still a bus conductor-turned-actor when V. S. Raghavan, already a veteran character actor, agreed to share screen with him in Shankar Salim Simon (1978). Raghavan's nod gave the newcomer instant credibility on set.
• In En Kelvikku Enna Bathil (1978), Raghavan played the stern father to Rajinikanth's rebellious son. Rajini later said Raghavan's deadpan delivery forced him to underplay his own style — making that film one of his earliest controlled performances.
• Raghavan never called Rajinikanth by his screen name. On every set, he addressed him as 'Shivaji' — Rajini's birth name — because he believed actors should stay grounded in who they were before fame.
• Their 1982 film Enkeyo Ketta Kural was the first Tamil movie where Rajinikanth played a double role. Raghavan played both father figures — one to each character — creating a template that later double-role films like Muthu would follow.
• Rajinikanth once told a magazine: 'Raghavan sir never raised his voice on screen. But his silence made me work harder. I learned that acting is not about shouting — it's about listening.'
• In Thanikattu Raja (1982), Raghavan played a blind man. Rajinikanth deliberately slowed his own dialogue delivery in their scenes together — matching Raghavan's pace so the blindness felt real, not theatrical.