Sivaji Ganesan & Suruli rajan Movies Together List — 6 Films

The shape of the work

The 1970s belonged to Dheepam; the 1980s to Rishimoolam. Sivaji Ganesan acted in every film; Suruli rajan acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.

Partnership facts

• Sivaji Ganesan personally requested Suruli Rajan for Manidharil Manikkam (1973). Suruli was a stage comedian at the time, not a film regular. Sivaji saw him perform live and told the director: 'He’s the one.' That film launched Suruli’s full-time film career.
• On the sets of Dheepam (1977), Sivaji would deliberately flub his lines in the first take just to watch Suruli improvise a recovery. Suruli would then riff for two minutes straight, and Sivaji would nod and say 'Idu dhaan comedy' — meaning 'This is comedy.' The director kept those takes.
• Suruli Rajan never called Sivaji 'sir' or 'annachi' like everyone else. He called him 'Sivaji' — plain name. Sivaji once told a co-star: 'He’s the only man who treats me like a co-actor, not a god.' They shared the same makeup room on all five films.
• Hitler Umanath (1982) was the last film they made together. It directly inspired a wave of 'comedy villain' roles in Tamil cinema — where the antagonist is both scary and funny. Suruli’s performance in that film became a template for later actors like Vadivelu in negative roles.
• Suruli Rajan once said in a 1983 interview: 'Sivaji made me believe I could act. Not just make people laugh — act. He’d pull me aside after a scene and whisper, “You made me forget my lines.” That’s the biggest compliment I ever got.'
• In Rishimoolam (1980), Sivaji and Suruli shot a 12-minute single-take comedy sequence. Sivaji set the rhythm — he’d pause exactly two seconds before his punchline — and Suruli matched his timing beat for beat. The editor later said he didn’t need to cut a single frame.