Sathyaraj & Nizhalgal Ravi Movies Together List — 17 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-06-02 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Sathyaraj and Nizhalgal Ravi appeared together in 17 Tamil films between 1985 and 2026. Their highest-rated collaboration was Veera (1994 — 6.5/10). Films span Naan Sigappu Manithan (1985) through Vaa Vaathiyaar (2026).
The Sathyaraj & Nizhalgal Ravi partnership
After 21 years apart, they came back together for Baby & Baby (2025). They didn't share a set between 2004 and 2025. 1985 was their peak — 5 films in twelve months.
Their work runs across 4 decades of Tamil cinema. From Naan Sigappu Manithan (1985) to Vaa Vaathiyaar (2026).
The shape of the work
The 1980s belonged to Naan Sigappu Manithan; the 2020s to Vaa Vaathiyaar. Sathyaraj acted in every film; Nizhalgal Ravi acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.
Partnership facts
- In 'Chinna Thambi Periya Thambi' (1987), Sathyaraj and Nizhalgal Ravi played brothers with a massive age gap — and their 'thambi vs anna' shouting match became a template for sibling rivalry scenes in Tamil cinema for the next decade.
- Their 1996 film 'Sivasakthi' holds the dubious record of being the lowest-rated film in either actor's filmography — a 1/10 on IMDb — and both have admitted in interviews they'd rather forget it.
- After 'Veera Padhakkam' (1994) flopped, both actors took a 7-year break from working together. When they returned with 'Aandan Adimai' (2001), it marked a shift — they stopped playing brothers and started playing rivals, which became their new formula.
- Nizhalgal Ravi once said in a 2004 interview: 'Sathyaraj and I never needed a script to fight on screen. We just looked at each other and knew the rhythm.'
- The climax of 'Adi Thadi' (2004) — where both actors beat each other bloody with a wooden plank — is still a meme template in Tamil social media for 'two friends who can't stop arguing.'
- They are one of only three Tamil actor duos to have released a film together in four different decades (1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s — though their last was a cameo).
17 films across 4 decades
The 1980s accounted for 9 films, averaging 4.0/10.
The 1990s accounted for 3 films, averaging 3.8/10.
The 2000s accounted for 3 films, averaging 4.5/10.
The 2020s accounted for 2 films, averaging 4.7/10.
- Naan Sigappu Manithan
- Chinna Thambi Periya Thambi
- Veera
- Sivasakthi
- Adi Thadi
- Aandan Adimai0
- Vaa Vaathiyaar
- Baby & Baby
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
17 films across 41 years represents consistent collaboration.
Language Distribution
Linguistic diversity: 1 language, with Tamil being their primary medium.
Where each was in their career
47% of Sathyaraj's screen credits are with Nizhalgal Ravi.
Before Naan Sigappu Manithan, Sathyaraj had starred in 19 films, including Enakkul Oruvan (1984) and Nooravathu Naal (1984).
Before Naan Sigappu Manithan, Nizhalgal Ravi had starred in 6 films, including Nizhalgal (1980) and Mann Vasanai (1983).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Sathyaraj & Nizhalgal Ravi's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
Ilayaraja scored 6 of them. Senthil appears alongside them in 4 films — practically a third lead. They worked with the same 8 people again and again — a small repertory company.
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Other iconic Tamil director-actor duos
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