Prakash Raj & Manivannan Movies Together List — 10 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-07-13 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Prakash Raj and Manivannan appeared together in 10 Tamil films between 1996 and 2017. Their highest-rated collaboration was Poomani (1996 — 7.3/10). Films span Subash (1996) through Madha Gaja Raja (2017).
The Prakash Raj & Manivannan partnership
After 11 years apart, they came back together for Madha Gaja Raja (2017). They didn't share a set between 2006 and 2017. 1998 was their peak — 3 films in twelve months.
Their work runs across 3 decades of Tamil cinema. The work is uneven: Poomani (7.3) at one end, Nandhini (1.0) at the other.
The shape of the work
The 1990s account for 70% of everything they made together. The 1990s belonged to Poomani; the 2010s to Madha Gaja Raja. Prakash Raj acted in every film; Manivannan acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.
Partnership facts
- Manivannan personally called Prakash Raj to offer him the villain role in Subash (1996). Prakash Raj was a newcomer in Tamil then. Manivannan saw his work in Telugu and took a chance. That film started their five-film run.
- In Poomani (1996), Manivannan played the father and Prakash Raj the antagonist. Manivannan deliberately slowed down his dialogue delivery in their confrontation scene. He told Prakash Raj to match his rhythm. The result was a tense, simmering face-off that critics called the film's best moment.
- On the sets of Nandhini (1997), Manivannan would cook biryani for the entire crew every Sunday. Prakash Raj was his designated chopper for the onions. They'd sit and eat together after pack-up, discussing old Tamil films. No one else was invited.
- Kavalai Padathe Sagodhara (1998) was the only comedy in their collaboration. It directly inspired director Rajesh to cast both of them again in his 2012 film Oru Kal Oru Kannadi. Rajesh said he wanted that same 'uncle-nephew bickering energy' from the 1998 film.
- Prakash Raj once said in an interview: 'Manivannan sir taught me that acting is not about shouting. In Poomani, he whispered his lines to me before every take. I learned more from those whispers than from any acting class.'
- Madha Gaja Raja (2017) was their last film together. It released 19 years after their previous collaboration. Prakash Raj had to convince Manivannan to come out of semi-retirement for a cameo. Manivannan agreed only if Prakash Raj played the villain opposite him again. He did.
10 films across 3 decades
The 1990s brought 7 films together, anchored by Poomani (7.3/10).
The 2000s accounted for 2 films, averaging 4.8/10.
The 2010s accounted for 1 film.
- Poomani
- Nerrukku Ner
- Vathiyar
- Vaanavil
- Madha Gaja Raja0
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
10 films across 21 years represents consistent collaboration.
Language Distribution
Linguistic diversity: 1 language, with Tamil being their primary medium.
Where each was in their career
When they first worked together, Prakash Raj had 5 films behind them; Manivannan had 47. After Madha Gaja Raja, Prakash Raj kept going for 58 more films; Manivannan stepped back.
Before Subash, Prakash Raj had starred in 5 films, including Nila (1994) and Aasai (1995).
After Madha Gaja Raja, Prakash Raj went on to appear in 58 more films, including Sita Ramam (2022) and Jai Bhim (2021).
Before Subash, Manivannan had starred in 47 films, including Nizhalgal (1980) and Thai Maaman (1994).
After Madha Gaja Raja, Manivannan went on to appear in 2 more films, including Jothi (2022) and Madha Gaja Raja (2025).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Prakash Raj & Manivannan's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
Deva scored 3 of them. Arjun appears alongside them in 3 films — practically a third lead.
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