Sivaji Ganesan & Major Sundarrajan Movies Together List — 39 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-06-04 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Sivaji Ganesan and Major Sundarrajan appeared together in 39 Tamil films between 1966 and 1986. Their highest-rated collaboration was Deiva Magan (1969 — 8.3/10). Films span Motor Sundaram Pillai (1966) through Anandha Kanneer (1986).
The Sivaji Ganesan & Major Sundarrajan partnership
Their work runs across 3 decades of Tamil cinema. 1982 was their peak — 5 films in twelve months. For 20 years, a Sivaji–Major film arrived almost every year.
Remarkably even — every film rates between 6.5 and 8.3. From Motor Sundaram Pillai (1966) to Anandha Kanneer (1986).
The shape of the work
The 1960s belonged to Deiva Magan; the 1980s to Thyagi. Major Sundarrajan actor in some, director in others. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.
Partnership facts
- Their first film together, Motor Sundaram Pillai (1966), was a comedy where Sivaji played a bus driver and Major Sundarrajan played his sidekick. The director, A. P. Nagarajan, paired them on a whim — and audiences loved the contrast so much that they made 31 more films together.
- In Thanga Pathakkam (1974), Sivaji played the stern, righteous father while Major Sundarrajan played the comic relief servant. The trick was simple: Major would improvise one-liners during Sivaji's serious scenes, and Sivaji would react with genuine surprise — that's why their banter feels so alive.
- Their 1972 film Vasantha Maligai launched the career of composer M. S. Viswanathan's favorite playback singer, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam — it was his first major Tamil hit. The film's songs became a template for romantic duets in the 70s.
- Major Sundarrajan was a real-life army major who left the military to act. Sivaji personally convinced him to stay in cinema after his first few films flopped. They remained close off-screen — Major was the only co-star Sivaji invited to his son's wedding.
- Sivaji once said about Major Sundarrajan: 'He could make me laugh even when I was in the middle of a crying scene. I had to beg him to stop joking before the camera rolled.'
- In Gnana Oli (1972), a mythological film, Sivaji played the sage Narada and Major played his comic sidekick. Major's role was entirely improvised — he'd ad-lib modern slang into ancient dialogues, and Sivaji would deadpan his way through, making the contrast work.
39 films across 3 decades
The 1960s brought 5 films together, anchored by Deiva Magan (8.3/10).
The 1970s brought 21 films together, anchored by Gauravam (7.5/10).
The 1980s brought 13 films together, anchored by Thyagi (7.5/10).
- Deiva Magan
- Motor Sundaram Pillai
- Gauravam
- Thanga Pathakkam
- Thyagi
- Nenjangal
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
39 films across 20 years represents consistent collaboration.
Language Distribution
Linguistic diversity: 1 language, with Tamil being their primary medium.
Where each was in their career
36% of Sivaji Ganesan's screen credits are with Major Sundarrajan. When they first worked together, Sivaji Ganesan had 48 films behind them; Major Sundarrajan had 4.
Before Motor Sundaram Pillai, Sivaji Ganesan had starred in 48 films, including Thiruvilaiyadal (1965) and Karnan (1964).
After Anandha Kanneer, Sivaji Ganesan went on to appear in 21 more films, including Mudhal Kural (1992) and Veera Pandiyan (1987).
Before Motor Sundaram Pillai, Major Sundarrajan had starred in 4 films, including Server Sundaram (1964) and Neerkumizhi (1965).
After Anandha Kanneer, Major Sundarrajan went on to appear in 16 more films, including Chakravarthy (1995) and Iruvar (1997).













Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Sivaji Ganesan & Major Sundarrajan's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
M. S. Viswanathan is the through-line — music on 28 of their 39 films. M. S. Viswanathan scored 28 of them. They worked with the same 30 people again and again — a small repertory company.
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Other iconic Tamil director-actor duos
Discover other partnerships with comparable filmographies and ratings
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Ilayaraja
Nagesh
Sivaji Ganesan
