Sivakumar & Suruli rajan Movies Together List — 8 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-06-05 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Sivakumar and Suruli rajan appeared together in 8 Tamil films between 1970 and 1980. Films span Thirumalai Thenkumari (1970) through Vandichakkaram (1980).
The Sivakumar & Suruli rajan partnership
From Thirumalai Thenkumari (1970) to Vandichakkaram (1980). For 10 years, a Sivakumar–Suruli film arrived almost every year. The unfolded closed with Vandichakkaram in 1980.
It started with Thirumalai Thenkumari (1970).
The shape of the work
The 1970s account for 75% of everything they made together. The 1970s belonged to Thirumalai Thenkumari; the 1980s to Kuruvikoodu. Sivakumar acted in every film; Suruli rajan acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.
Partnership facts
- Sivakumar and Suruli Rajan first faced off in 'Kankatshi' (1971) because the director wanted a comedian who could match Sivakumar's intensity in a courtroom scene. Suruli Rajan was a last-minute replacement after the original comedian walked out over a payment dispute.
- In 'Bhuvana Oru Kelvi Kuri' (1977), Suruli Rajan would deliberately flub his lines during rehearsals to make Sivakumar laugh, forcing Sivakumar to stay sharp and improvise. That tension — one trying to break the other — is what made their comic timing so electric on screen.
- Their 1979 film 'Poonthalir' directly launched the career of a young supporting actor named Rajinikanth, who played a small role. Sivakumar insisted on casting him after seeing his stage work; Suruli Rajan helped him with comic timing on set.
- Off-screen, Sivakumar and Suruli Rajan had a standing bet on every film: whoever fluffed the most takes had to buy the other a full meal at the canteen. Suruli Rajan reportedly lost every single time across all 7 films.
- Sivakumar once said in a 1981 interview: 'Suruli Rajan could make me laugh even when I was supposed to cry. I had to physically look away from him during serious scenes in Vandichakkaram or we'd have to cut.'
8 films across 2 decades
The 1970s accounted for 6 films.
The 1980s accounted for 2 films.
- Thirumalai Thenkumari0
- Kankatshi0
- Kuruvikoodu0
- Vandichakkaram0
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
8 films across 10 years represents consistent collaboration.
Language Distribution
Linguistic diversity: 1 language, with Tamil being their primary medium.
Where each was in their career
40% of Suruli rajan's screen credits are with Sivakumar. After Vandichakkaram, Sivakumar kept going for 81 more films; Suruli rajan stepped back.
Before Thirumalai Thenkumari, Sivakumar had starred in 7 films, including Uyarndha Manidhan (1968) and Kandan Karunai (1967).
After Vandichakkaram, Sivakumar went on to appear in 81 more films, including Agni Sakshi (1982) and Anandha Ragam (1982).
Before Thirumalai Thenkumari, Suruli rajan had starred in 2 films, including Paalkudam (1969) and Vaa Raja Vaa (1969).
After Vandichakkaram, Suruli rajan went on to appear in 10 more films, including Sankarlal (1981) and Meendum Kokila (1981).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Sivakumar & Suruli rajan's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
People who worked on Sivakumar & Suruli rajan's films together
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