Manobala & Sathish Movies Together List — 13 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-07-13 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Manobala and Sathish appeared together in 13 Tamil films between 2013 and 2022. Their highest-rated collaboration was Sollividava (2018 — 7.0/10). Films span Ethir Neechal (2013) through Naai Sekar (2022).
The Manobala & Sathish partnership
2018 was their peak — 3 films in twelve months. For 9 years, a Manobala–Sathish film arrived almost every year. From Ethir Neechal (2013) to Naai Sekar (2022).
Sollividava is the one most viewers reach for. It started with Ethir Neechal (2013).
The shape of the work
The 2010s account for 85% of everything they made together. The 2010s belonged to Sollividava; the 2020s to Naai Sekar. Manobala acted in every film; Sathish acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.
Partnership facts
- Manobala actually directed Sathish in 'Sollividava' (2018) — that was the first time they worked together. Sathish was already a known comedian, but Manobala gave him the lead role. The film became a surprise hit and that's when they decided to keep pairing up.
- In 'Kalakalappu 2' (2018), Manobala played the straight man to Sathish's chaos. Sathish would improvise entire dialogues on set, and Manobala would just react with deadpan silence — that contrast became the film's funniest bits. The director later said he let them run wild because 'they knew each other's timing better than the script did.'
- Their 2019 film 'Mr. Local' was the first time Sathish played a full-fledged romantic lead opposite Nayanthara. Manobala insisted he could pull it off, and that role directly led to Sathish getting more hero offers in mainstream Tamil cinema.
- Manobala and Sathish had a standing rule: no matter how bad the film's reviews were, they'd call each other the night of the release and just laugh about the worst line or scene. Sathish once said in an interview that Manobala's call after 'Motta Shiva Ketta Shiva' (2017) — which got trashed — was the only thing that made him feel okay about it.
- Sathish on Manobala: 'He is the only director who let me fail on screen and still cast me again. That trust is rare in this industry.' — Sathish, in a 2022 interview about 'Naai Sekar'.
13 films across 2 decades
The 2010s brought 11 films together, anchored by Sollividava (7.0/10).
The 2020s accounted for 2 films, averaging 6.0/10.
- Sollividava
- Ethir Neechal
- Naai Sekar
- Naai Sekar
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
13 films across 9 years represents consistent collaboration.
Language Distribution
Linguistic diversity: 1 language, with Tamil being their primary medium.
Where each was in their career
46% of Sathish's screen credits are with Manobala. When they first worked together, Manobala had 81 films behind them; Sathish had 7.
Before Ethir Neechal, Manobala had starred in 81 films, including Pithamagan (2003) and Thuppakki (2012).
After Naai Sekar, Manobala went on to appear in 17 more films, including Irugapatru (2023) and Viduthalai: Part II (2024).
Before Ethir Neechal, Sathish had starred in 7 films, including Vaagai Sooda Vaa (2011) and Marina (2012).
After Naai Sekar, Sathish went on to appear in 8 more films, including Sattam En Kaiyil (2024) and Conjuring Kannappan (2023).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Manobala & Sathish's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
Nikki Galrani appears alongside them in 4 films — practically a third lead.
4
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
22
22
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
Other iconic Tamil director-actor duos
Discover other partnerships with comparable filmographies and ratings
