Kamal Haasan & Suruli rajan Movies Together List — 8 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-06-04 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Kamal Haasan and Suruli rajan appeared together in 8 Tamil films between 1975 and 1981. Their highest-rated collaboration was Manidharil Ithanai Nirangala (1978 — 7.8/10). Films span Aayirathil Oruthi (1975) through Sankarlal (1981).
The Kamal Haasan & Suruli rajan partnership
Between 1975 and 1981, they barely worked apart — 8 films in 6 years. 1981 was their peak — 3 films in twelve months. For 6 years, a Kamal–Suruli film arrived almost every year.
Remarkably even — every film rates between 6.5 and 7.8. From Aayirathil Oruthi (1975) to Sankarlal (1981).
The shape of the work
The 1980s account for 63% of everything they made together. The 1970s belonged to Manidharil Ithanai Nirangala; the 1980s to Sankarlal. Kamal Haasan acted in every film; Suruli rajan acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.
Partnership facts
- Suruli Rajan wasn't the first choice for their first film together, Aayirathil Oruthi (1975). Kamal Haasan personally insisted on casting him after seeing his stage work — the director gave in only after Kamal threatened to walk off the project.
- On the sets of Manidharil Ithanai Nirangala (1978), Kamal would deliberately flub his lines in the first take just to watch Suruli Rajan's spontaneous comic reactions. Suruli caught on by the third day and started doing the same to Kamal — the director kept rolling because both takes were gold.
- During the shoot of Ullasa Paravaigal (1980), Kamal and Suruli Rajan shared a room in a small lodge near the location. Every night, Suruli would make Kamal rehearse his lines aloud while he improvised counter-dialogues — they never used a script the next morning.
- The success of their comic pairing in Ram Lakshman (1981) directly inspired director S. P. Muthuraman to cast them again in Sankarlal (1981) — but this time as a serious father-son duo. That film's emotional climax, where Suruli's character dies in Kamal's arms, is still used in Tamil acting workshops as a masterclass in restraint.
- Kamal once said in a 1982 interview: 'Suruli Rajan taught me that comedy is just tragedy played at a faster speed. Every laugh we got together came from a real pain we both understood.'
8 films across 2 decades
The 1970s brought 3 films together, anchored by Manidharil Ithanai Nirangala (7.8/10).
The 1980s brought 5 films together, anchored by Sankarlal (7.5/10).
- Manidharil Ithanai Nirangala
- Thaayillamal Naan Illai
- Sankarlal
- Meendum Kokila
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
8 films across 6 years represents consistent collaboration.
Language Distribution
Linguistic diversity: 1 language, with Tamil being their primary medium.
Where each was in their career
32% of Suruli rajan's screen credits are with Kamal Haasan. After Sankarlal, Kamal Haasan kept going for 118 more films; Suruli rajan stepped back. By the time of Aayirathil Oruthi, both already had careers — Kamal Haasan with 14 films, Suruli rajan with 13.
Before Aayirathil Oruthi, Kamal Haasan had starred in 14 films, including Aval Oru Thodar Kathai (1974) and Arangetram (1973).
After Sankarlal, Kamal Haasan went on to appear in 118 more films, including Enakkul Oruvan (1984) and Enakkul Oruvan (1984).
Before Aayirathil Oruthi, Suruli rajan had starred in 13 films, including Alaigal (1973) and Anbu Thangai (1974).
After Sankarlal, Suruli rajan went on to appear in 4 more films, including Hitler Umanath (1982) and Kashmir Kadhali (1983).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Kamal Haasan & Suruli rajan's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
Ilayaraja is the through-line — music on 6 of their 8 films. Ilayaraja scored 6 of them. Sridevi appears alongside them in 4 films — practically a third lead.
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