Rajinikanth & Raadhika Sarathkumar Movies Together List — 6 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-07-18 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Rajinikanth and Raadhika Sarathkumar appeared together in 6 Tamil films between 1982 and 1987. Their highest-rated collaboration was Nallavanuku Nallavan (1984 — 7.8/10). Films span Pokkiri Raja (1982) through Oorkavalan (1987).
The Rajinikanth & Raadhika Sarathkumar partnership
Between 1982 and 1987, they barely worked apart — 6 films in 5 years. 1982 was their peak — 3 films in twelve months. For 5 years, a Rajinikanth–Raadhika film arrived almost every year.
From Pokkiri Raja (1982) to Oorkavalan (1987). Moondru Mugam (1982, 7.5/10) is the underseen one in the catalogue.
The shape of the work
Rajinikanth acted in every film; Raadhika Sarathkumar acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.
Partnership facts
- Rajinikanth personally recommended Raadhika for Pokkiri Raja (1982) after the director struggled to find a leading lady. She was just 16 and had only done Malayalam films before that.
- In Moondru Mugam (1982), Rajinikanth played three roles — and Raadhika had to act opposite each version differently. She later said she'd mentally label each one (the lover, the villain, the comic) before every scene to keep up with his switches.
- During the shoot of Nallavanuku Nallavan (1984), Raadhika's mother would cook home food and pack extra for Rajinikanth. He'd sit with them between shots, eating off banana leaves — something he rarely did with other co-stars.
- Raadhika once said in an interview: 'With Rajini, I never felt like I was acting. He'd pull reactions out of me without me even trying. He made me look good.'
- Their pairing in Anbulla Rajinikanth (1984) was so popular that the film's title was literally a love letter to the actor — and Raadhika's character was written as the fan who adores him. It blurred fiction and reality for audiences.
- In Oorkavalan (1987), their last film together, Raadhika played a village belle opposite Rajinikanth's cop. She later admitted she had to tone down her own energy because his character was more restrained — a rare case where she deliberately under-acted to match his mood.
6 films across 1 decade
- Nallavanuku Nallavan
- Moondru Mugam
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
6 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 51 films behind them; Raadhika Sarathkumar had 14. After Oorkavalan, Raadhika Sarathkumar kept going for 76 more films; Rajinikanth stepped back.
Before Pokkiri Raja, Rajinikanth had starred in 51 films, including Padhinaru Vayadhiniley (1977) and Aarilirunthu Arubathu Varai (1979).
After Oorkavalan, Rajinikanth went on to appear in 56 more films, including Robot (2010) and Petta (2019).
Before Pokkiri Raja, Raadhika Sarathkumar had starred in 14 films, including Niram Maaratha Pookkal (1979) and Kizhake Pogum Rail (1978).
After Oorkavalan, Raadhika Sarathkumar went on to appear in 76 more films, including Kizhakku Cheemayile (1993) and Ninaivu Chinnam (1989).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Rajinikanth & Raadhika Sarathkumar's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
Senthamarai is the through-line — cast on 3 of their 6 films. Ilayaraja scored 3 of them. Senthamarai appears alongside them in 3 films — practically a third lead.
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