Manobala & Santhana Bharathi Movies Together List — 8 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-06-04 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Manobala and Santhana Bharathi appeared together in 8 Tamil films between 2003 and 2020. Their highest-rated collaboration was Chennaiyil Oru Naal (2013 — 7.4/10). Films span Nala Damayanthi (2003) through Dagaalty (2020).
The Manobala & Santhana Bharathi partnership
Their work runs across 3 decades of Tamil cinema. From Nala Damayanthi (2003) to Dagaalty (2020). Chennaiyil Oru Naal is the one most viewers reach for.
It started with Nala Damayanthi (2003).
The shape of the work
The 2010s account for 75% of everything they made together. The 2000s belonged to Nala Damayanthi; the 2020s to Dagaalty. Manobala acted in every film; Santhana Bharathi acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.
Partnership facts
- Manobala was already a veteran character actor when he decided to direct again after a long gap. He specifically called Santhana Bharathi for 'Puthagam' (2013) because he wanted a co-star who could match his own deadpan timing — and Santhana Bharathi said yes without even reading the full script.
- In 'Chennaiyil Oru Naal' (2013), Manobala played a bumbling cop and Santhana Bharathi played a nervous thief. The entire comedy rhythm came from Manobala deliberately slowing down his lines, forcing Santhana Bharathi to speed up his reactions — a push-pull they perfected over four films.
- Their 2014 film 'Tenaliraman' was a spoof of historical epics. It directly inspired a wave of low-budget parody films in Tamil — including the 'Thamizh Padam' sequel — because producers saw that a Manobala-Santhana Bharathi combo could make absurd comedy work without big stars.
- On the sets of 'Dagaalty' (2020), the two would rehearse scenes in a corner away from the crew, often rewriting dialogues on the spot. Santhana Bharathi later said they never once argued — because Manobala would just nod and say 'do your version' if he disagreed.
- Santhana Bharathi once told a magazine: 'Manobala sir doesn't direct me. He just gives me a look, and I know exactly what he wants. That's why we never needed many takes.'
8 films across 3 decades
The 2000s accounted for 1 film, averaging 6.4/10.
The 2010s brought 6 films together, anchored by Chennaiyil Oru Naal (7.4/10).
The 2020s accounted for 1 film, averaging 6.5/10.
- Nala Damayanthi
- Chennaiyil Oru Naal
- Kattradhu Kalavu
- Dagaalty
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
8 films across 17 years represents consistent collaboration.
Language Distribution
Linguistic diversity: 1 language, with Tamil being their primary medium.
Where each was in their career
After Dagaalty, Manobala kept going for 33 more films; Santhana Bharathi stepped back. By the time of Nala Damayanthi, both already had careers — Manobala with 30 films, Santhana Bharathi with 23.
Before Nala Damayanthi, Manobala had starred in 30 films, including Gopurangal Saivathillai (1982) and Puthiya Vaarpugal (1979).
After Dagaalty, Manobala went on to appear in 33 more films, including Irugapatru (2023) and Viduthalai: Part II (2024).
Before Nala Damayanthi, Santhana Bharathi had starred in 23 films, including Panneer Pushpangal (1981) and Poovizhi Raja (1988).
After Dagaalty, Santhana Bharathi went on to appear in 7 more films, including Vikram (2022) and Aaromaley (2025).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Manobala & Santhana Bharathi's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
People who worked on Manobala & Santhana Bharathi's films together
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
