Kamal Haasan & V. S. Raghavan Movies Together List — 4 Films

The shape of the work

The 1970s belonged to Kanna Nalama; the 1980s to Naanum Oru Thozhilali. Kamal Haasan acted in every film; V. S. Raghavan acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.

Partnership facts

• Kamal Haasan was just 19 when he acted opposite V. S. Raghavan in Gumasthavin Magal (1974). Raghavan was already a veteran character actor. Kamal later said Raghavan treated him like a son on set, guiding him through every scene.
• In Maria, My Darling (1980), Kamal played a mentally unstable man. V. S. Raghavan played a doctor. The film’s tension comes from Raghavan’s calm, clinical delivery pushing Kamal’s erratic outbursts further. Kamal said Raghavan’s stillness made him work harder to match the intensity.
• Kamal Haasan personally requested V. S. Raghavan for Naanum Oru Thozhilali (1986). By then, Raghavan was in his 70s and rarely took new roles. Kamal insisted, saying the film needed Raghavan’s gravitas to ground the comedy.
• Kamal Haasan once said in an interview: 'V. S. Raghavan sir didn't act. He just became the character. I learned more from watching him than from any acting class.'
• Their only comedy together, Naanum Oru Thozhilali (1986), was a rare instance where Kamal played a straight man to Raghavan’s comic timing. The film’s success led to a brief revival of older character actors in lead comic roles in the late 80s.