Rajinikanth & Madhavi Movies Together List — 7 Films

The shape of the work

Rajinikanth acted in every film; Madhavi acted in all of them. Mostly Tamil, with 2 films in Hindi.

Partnership facts

• Rajinikanth was already a star when they first paired up in Thillu Mullu (1981), but Madhavi was the bigger name at the box office — she had just come off a string of hits with Sivaji Ganesan. The director K. Balachander actually cast her first, then picked Rajini as the male lead.
• In Thillu Mullu, Madhavi played the straight-laced wife to Rajini's conman — and she deliberately underplayed every scene. Rajini later said her calm, natural style forced him to tone down his usual mannerisms, making his comedy land better. That film is still considered one of his best pure comedies.
• Madhavi was the one who taught Rajinikanth how to drive a car properly for a scene in Garjanai (1981). He had never driven a manual before, and she spent two evenings in an empty lot coaching him. He never forgot it — he mentioned it in a 2018 interview.
• Their 1985 film Un Kannil Neer Vazhindal was a remake of a Malayalam hit, but it bombed so badly that producers stopped pairing them as romantic leads. After that, they only appeared together in multi-starrers or action films — the romantic-comedy pair was dead.
• Madhavi once said in a 1990s TV interview: 'Rajini sir was very shy around me in the first two films. I had to start every conversation. After Thambikku Entha Ooru, he finally relaxed and started pulling pranks on set.'