Kamal Haasan & Delhi Ganesh Movies Together List — 12 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-07-12 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Kamal Haasan and Delhi Ganesh appeared together in 12 Tamil films between 1982 and 2015. Their highest-rated collaboration was Papanasam (2015 — 8.0/10). Films span Simla Special (1982) through Papanasam (2015).
The Kamal Haasan & Delhi Ganesh partnership
After 12 years apart, they came back together for Papanasam (2015). They didn't share a set between 2003 and 2015. One film towers over the rest: Papanasam at 8.0/10.
They saved their best for last — Papanasam (8.0/10) came 33 years in. Their work runs across 4 decades of Tamil cinema.
The shape of the work
The 1980s belonged to Apoorva Sagodharargal; the 2010s to Papanasam. Kamal Haasan actor in some, producer in others. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.
Partnership facts
- Kamal Haasan personally called Delhi Ganesh to play the comedic sidekick in 'Simla Special' (1982) after seeing his stage work. Ganesh was a theatre actor with barely any film experience at the time.
- In 'Avvai Shanmughi' (1996), Delhi Ganesh played the straight man to Kamal's disguised female character. Ganesh deliberately underplayed every reaction so Kamal's over-the-top antics would land harder — a rhythm they perfected over three films.
- Delhi Ganesh has said in interviews that Kamal Haasan never treated him like a junior artist. On the sets of 'Papanasam' (2015), Kamal would rehearse scenes with Ganesh alone before the full crew arrived, just to make sure Ganesh felt comfortable with the emotional weight of the climax.
- Delhi Ganesh once said: 'Kamal doesn't just act with you — he acts for you. He adjusts his pitch so that your performance also shines.' He said this in a 2016 interview about working on 'Papanasam'.
- The success of 'Avvai Shanmughi' (1996) directly led to Delhi Ganesh being cast in several more female-impersonation comedies in the late 90s, including 'Arunachalam' and 'Muthu' — a mini-trend that started because their pairing proved the formula worked.
12 films across 4 decades
The 1980s accounted for 6 films, averaging 5.3/10.
The 1990s accounted for 3 films, averaging 5.8/10.
The 2000s accounted for 2 films, averaging 6.2/10.
The 2010s brought 1 film together, anchored by Papanasam (8.0/10).
- Apoorva Sagodharargal
- Nayagan
- Michael Madana Kama Rajan
- Avvai Shanmughi
- Nala Damayanthi
- Thenali
- Papanasam
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
12 films across 33 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, Kamal Haasan had 79 films behind them; Delhi Ganesh had 6. After Papanasam, Delhi Ganesh kept going for 43 more films; Kamal Haasan stepped back.
Before Simla Special, Kamal Haasan had starred in 79 films, including Azhiyadha Kolangal (1979) and Padhinaru Vayadhiniley (1977).
After Papanasam, Kamal Haasan went on to appear in 15 more films, including Vikram (2022) and Kalki 2898 AD (2024).
Before Simla Special, Delhi Ganesh had starred in 6 films, including Polladhavan (1980) and Pasi (1979).
After Papanasam, Delhi Ganesh went on to appear in 43 more films, including Dhuruvangal Pathinaaru (2016) and Nerkonda Paarvai (2019).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Kamal Haasan & Delhi Ganesh's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
Ilayaraja is the through-line — music on 6 of their 12 films. Ilayaraja scored 6 of them. Nassar appears alongside them in 5 films — practically a third lead.
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