Rajinikanth & Sivaji Ganesan Movies Together List — 6 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-07-12 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Rajinikanth and Sivaji Ganesan appeared together in 6 Tamil films between 1978 and 1986. Their highest-rated collaboration was Naan Vazhavaippen (1979 — 7.5/10). Films span Justice Gopinath (1978) through Viduthalai (1986).
The Rajinikanth & Sivaji Ganesan partnership
Between 1978 and 1986, they barely worked apart — 6 films in 8 years. For 8 years, a Rajinikanth–Sivaji film arrived almost every year. From Justice Gopinath (1978) to Viduthalai (1986).
The ran closed with Viduthalai in 1986. Naan Vazhavaippen is the one most viewers reach for.
The shape of the work
The 1980s account for 67% of everything they made together. The 1970s belonged to Naan Vazhavaippen; the 1980s to Padikkadavan. Rajinikanth acted in every film; Sivaji Ganesan acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.
Partnership facts
- Rajinikanth was a bus conductor before films. Sivaji Ganesan was already a legend. Their first film together, Naan Vazhavaippen (1979), happened because director K. Vijayan bet on Rajini's rising star to pair with Sivaji — and Sivaji agreed without hesitation.
- On the sets of Natchathiram (1980), Sivaji would deliberately slow down his dialogue delivery to match Rajini's rhythm. Rajini later said Sivaji taught him that acting isn't about speed — it's about the pause between words.
- During the shoot of Uruvangal Maralam (1983), Rajini would quietly watch Sivaji rehearse alone in his van. One day Sivaji called him in and said, 'Don't watch from outside. Come sit. I'll teach you what no school can.' That started a private mentorship that lasted years.
- Rajinikanth once said about Sivaji: 'He didn't just act with me. He acted for me. Every scene we shared, he made sure I looked good. That's the kind of man he was.'
- Padikkadavan (1985) was a box office disaster, but it directly inspired director K. S. Ravikumar to cast Rajini and Sivaji together again in the 1990s — a reunion that never happened because Sivaji passed away. The film's failure actually killed the idea of a proper 'superstar vs legend' face-off for good.
- In Viduthalai (1986), their last film together, Sivaji insisted on shooting a key confrontation scene in one continuous take. Rajini had to match his intensity without cuts. The scene runs 4 minutes — no one blinked. It's the only time both actors admitted they were 'genuinely nervous' before a shot.
6 films across 2 decades
The 1970s brought 2 films together, anchored by Naan Vazhavaippen (7.5/10).
The 1980s accounted for 4 films, averaging 4.8/10.
- Naan Vazhavaippen
- Justice Gopinath0
- Padikkadavan
- Viduthalai
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
6 films across 8 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 10 films behind them; Sivaji Ganesan had 140. After Viduthalai, Rajinikanth kept going for 63 more films; Sivaji Ganesan stepped back.
Before Justice Gopinath, Rajinikanth had starred in 10 films, including Padhinaru Vayadhiniley (1977) and Apoorva Raagangal (1975).
After Viduthalai, Rajinikanth went on to appear in 63 more films, including Robot (2010) and Petta (2019).
Before Justice Gopinath, Sivaji Ganesan had starred in 140 films, including Thiruvilaiyadal (1965) and Karnan (1964).
After Viduthalai, Sivaji Ganesan went on to appear in 21 more films, including Mudhal Kural (1992) and Veera Pandiyan (1987).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Rajinikanth & Sivaji Ganesan's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
Thengai Srinivasan is the through-line — cast on 3 of their 6 films. Thengai Srinivasan appears alongside them in 3 films — practically a third lead.
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