Manobala & Madhan Bob Movies Together List — 10 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-06-04 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Manobala and Madhan Bob appeared together in 10 Tamil films between 1997 and 2018. Their highest-rated collaboration was Ethir Neechal (2013 — 6.9/10). Films span Nandhini (1997) through Nagesh Thiraiyarangam (2018).
The Manobala & Madhan Bob partnership
After 10 years apart, they came back together for Ethir Neechal (2013). They didn't share a set between 2003 and 2013. 2017 was their peak — 4 films in twelve months.
They saved their best for last — Ethir Neechal (6.9/10) came 16 years in. Their work runs across 3 decades of Tamil cinema.
The shape of the work
The 2010s account for 80% of everything they made together. The 1990s belonged to Nandhini; the 2010s to Ethir Neechal. Manobala acted in every film; Madhan Bob acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.
Partnership facts
- Manobala and Madhan Bob first shared screen space in Nandhini (1997), a film that scored a disastrous 1/10. Nobody expected them to work together again — but they did, seven more times over the next 21 years.
- In Motta Shiva Ketta Shiva (2017), Manobala played the straight-faced straight man to Madhan Bob's frantic comic relief. Bob's timing forced Manobala to hold his reactions longer than usual — that tension became the joke.
- Their only hit together, Nagesh Thiraiyarangam (2018), was a tribute to legendary comedian Nagesh. Because of this film, a new generation of Tamil audiences discovered Nagesh's old classics on streaming platforms.
- Manobala and Madhan Bob never hung out off-set. They met only on shoot days, exchanged lines, and left. Neither attended the other's family functions. Their entire relationship was professional — and that's exactly how they liked it.
- Madhan Bob once said in an interview: 'Manobala sir never laughed at my jokes on set. That made me work harder. If he laughed, I knew I had done something wrong.'
- In Vaigai Express (2017), Manobala played a train passenger who keeps getting interrupted by Madhan Bob's ticket collector. Bob improvised three different ways of saying 'ticket please' — Manobala reacted differently each take, and the director kept all three in the final cut.
10 films across 3 decades
The 1990s accounted for 1 film, averaging 1.0/10.
The 2000s accounted for 1 film.
The 2010s accounted for 8 films, averaging 5.5/10.
- Nandhini
- Three Roses0
- Ethir Neechal
- Nagesh Thiraiyarangam
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
After Nagesh Thiraiyarangam, Manobala kept going for 53 more films; Madhan Bob stepped back. By the time of Nandhini, both already had careers — Manobala with 21 films, Madhan Bob with 16.
Before Nandhini, Manobala had starred in 21 films, including Gopurangal Saivathillai (1982) and Puthiya Vaarpugal (1979).
After Nagesh Thiraiyarangam, Manobala went on to appear in 53 more films, including Irugapatru (2023) and Viduthalai: Part II (2024).
Before Nandhini, Madhan Bob had starred in 16 films, including Udan Pirappu (1993) and Poove Unakkaga (1996).
After Nagesh Thiraiyarangam, Madhan Bob went on to appear in 9 more films, including Kalasal (2019) and Aalukku Paathi 50-50 (2019).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Manobala & Madhan Bob's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
Jayaprakash appears alongside them in 4 films — practically a third lead.
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