Premgi Amaran & Shiva Movies Together List — 4 Films

The shape of the work

The 2000s belonged to Chennai 600028; the 2010s to Chennai 600028 II: Second Innings. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.

Partnership facts

• Premgi Amaran was the one who convinced director Venkat Prabhu to cast Shiva in Chennai 600028. Shiva was a theatre actor with no film experience, and Premgi — already a music composer — vouched for him personally.
• On the sets of Saroja (2008), Premgi would feed Shiva improvised one-liners between takes. Shiva would then deliver them in his signature deadpan style, and the director kept the camera rolling. That's how most of their comic exchanges in the film were born — no script, just Premgi whispering and Shiva reacting.
• The success of Chennai 600028 (2007) directly launched the 'friendship comedy' trend in Tamil cinema. Before this film, no one had made a movie about a group of middle-class friends playing street cricket. After it, at least a dozen copycat films tried the same formula — none matched the original's vibe.
• Premgi and Shiva have been close friends since college. They were classmates at Loyola College, Chennai, and used to perform street plays together. When Premgi got into films as a composer, he made sure Shiva got a break — even though Shiva had zero connections in the industry.