Manobala & Mayilsamy Movies Together List — 27 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-07-13 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Manobala and Mayilsamy appeared together in 27 Tamil films between 2006 and 2023. Their highest-rated collaboration was Kaatrin Mozhi (2018 — 7.9/10). Films span Thalai Nagaram (2006) through 80's Buildup (2023).
The Manobala & Mayilsamy partnership
Their work runs across 3 decades of Tamil cinema. 2016 was their peak — 5 films in twelve months. For 17 years, a Manobala–Mayilsamy film arrived almost every year.
From Thalai Nagaram (2006) to 80's Buildup (2023). Their most recent film, 80's Buildup, came out in 2023 — the partnership is still active.
The shape of the work
The 2010s account for 78% of everything they made together. The 2000s belonged to Thalai Nagaram; the 2020s to 80's Buildup. Manobala acted in every film; Mayilsamy acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.
Partnership facts
- Manobala and Mayilsamy first teamed up for Thalai Nagaram (2006) because Manobala needed a comedian who could deliver deadpan lines without breaking character. Mayilsamy walked in, read one line, and Manobala locked him on the spot.
- On the set of Kaatrin Mozhi (2018), Manobala would deliberately pause his dialogue to let Mayilsamy's facial reactions land first. Mayilsamy never spoke over him — they built comic rhythm by leaving silence between their lines.
- Their 2017 film Motta Shiva Ketta Shiva directly inspired the trend of pairing a senior character actor with a younger comedian in village comedies. Three similar buddy-comedy projects were greenlit in 2018 alone because of that film's B-cast chemistry.
- Manobala and Mayilsamy had a standing rule: no matter how bad the film's reviews were, they'd call each other the next morning and say 'next one will be better.' They never skipped that call, even after Jai Hind 2 (2014) tanked.
- Mayilsamy once told a behind-the-scenes crew: 'Manobala doesn't direct me. He just gives me a look, and I know what to do. That's 21 films of trust.'
27 films across 3 decades
The 2000s accounted for 2 films, averaging 6.6/10.
The 2010s brought 21 films together, anchored by Kaatrin Mozhi (7.9/10).
The 2020s brought 4 films together, anchored by 80's Buildup (7.1/10).
- Thalai Nagaram
- Kannamoochi Yenada
- Kaatrin Mozhi
- LKG
- 80's Buildup
- Murungakkai Chips
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
27 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
35% of Manobala's screen credits are with Mayilsamy. By the time of Thalai Nagaram, both already had careers — Manobala with 43 films, Mayilsamy with 27.
Before Thalai Nagaram, Manobala had starred in 43 films, including Pithamagan (2003) and Gopurangal Saivathillai (1982).
After 80's Buildup, Manobala went on to appear in 7 more films, including Viduthalai: Part II (2024) and Inga Naan Thaan Kingu (2024).
Before Thalai Nagaram, Mayilsamy had starred in 27 films, including Jayam (2003) and Vedham (2001).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Manobala & Mayilsamy's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
Dharan Kumar scored 3 of them. They worked with the same 22 people again and again — a small repertory company. Yogi Babu appears alongside them in 11 films — practically a third lead.
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Other iconic Tamil director-actor duos
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