Mansoor Ali Khan & Manivannan Movies Together List — 13 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-06-04 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Mansoor Ali Khan and Manivannan appeared together in 13 Tamil films between 1992 and 2005. Their highest-rated collaboration was Kadavul (1997 — 6.6/10). Films span Therku Theru Machan (1992) through Chinna (2005).
The Mansoor Ali Khan & Manivannan partnership
For 13 years, a Mansoor–Manivannan film arrived almost every year. From Therku Theru Machan (1992) to Chinna (2005). The ran closed with Chinna in 2005.
It started with Therku Theru Machan (1992).
The shape of the work
The 1990s account for 62% of everything they made together. The 1990s belonged to Kadavul; the 2000s to Unnai Kann Theduthey. Manivannan director in some, actor in others. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.
Partnership facts
- Mansoor Ali Khan and Manivannan first shared screen space in 'Therku Theru Machan' (1992), but the pairing almost didn't happen — Manivannan was initially cast in a different role, and Mansoor lobbied the director to pair them as on-screen rivals after seeing Manivannan's intensity in a previous film.
- In 'Pistha' (1997), Manivannan deliberately slowed down his dialogue delivery to match Mansoor's raw, impulsive style — Mansoor later said that Manivannan's patience on set forced him to listen more and react, not just shout.
- Their 1995 film 'Deva' directly inspired the character dynamic for the 2002 hit 'Raajjiyam' — the producer saw their test footage and insisted the entire second half be rewritten to give them more scenes together.
- On the sets of 'Maanbumigu Maanavan' (1996), Mansoor and Manivannan had a running bet: whoever flubbed a line first had to buy the entire crew tea. Manivannan lost every single day — on purpose, because he liked the break.
- Mansoor once said in a 2005 interview: 'Manivannan taught me that acting is not about who speaks louder — it's about who makes the other person listen. I learned that in every single film we did together.'
- In 'Unnai Kann Theduthey' (2000), Manivannan improvised a 3-minute monologue mid-scene, and Mansoor — who wasn't in the shot — stayed off-camera feeding him cues because the director wanted a single take. That scene became the film's most talked-about moment.
13 films across 2 decades
The 1990s accounted for 8 films, averaging 5.2/10.
The 2000s accounted for 5 films, averaging 6.0/10.
- Kadavul
- Maanbumigu Maanavan
- Unnai Kann Theduthey
- Chinna
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
13 films across 13 years represents consistent collaboration.
Language Distribution
Linguistic diversity: 1 language, with Tamil being their primary medium.
Where each was in their career
After Chinna, Mansoor Ali Khan kept going for 50 more films; Manivannan stepped back.
Before Therku Theru Machan, Mansoor Ali Khan had starred in 3 films, including Captain Prabhakaran (1991) and Thangamana Thangachi (1991).
After Chinna, Mansoor Ali Khan went on to appear in 50 more films, including Leo (2023) and Kick (2023).
Before Therku Theru Machan, Manivannan had starred in 30 films, including Nizhalgal (1980) and Muthal Vasantham (1986).
After Chinna, Manivannan went on to appear in 30 more films, including Sivappathigaram (2006) and Nenjathai Killadhe (2008).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Mansoor Ali Khan & Manivannan's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
Deva is the through-line — music on 7 of their 13 films. Deva scored 7 of them. Kovai Sarala appears alongside them in 3 films — practically a third lead.
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