Devayani & Crane Manohar Movies Together List — 4 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-06-05 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Devayani and Crane Manohar appeared together in 4 Tamil films between 1998 and 2001. Their highest-rated collaboration was Friends (2001 — 6.4/10). Films span Pudhumai Pithan (1998) through Friends (2001).
The Devayani & Crane Manohar partnership
Between 1998 and 2001, they barely worked apart — 4 films in 3 years. The work is uneven: Friends (6.4) at one end, Paattali (1.0) at the other. From Pudhumai Pithan (1998) to Friends (2001).
The unfolded closed with Friends in 2001. It started with Pudhumai Pithan (1998).
The shape of the work
The 1990s belonged to Pudhumai Pithan; the 2000s to Friends. Devayani acted in every film; Crane Manohar acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.
Partnership facts
- Crane Manohar was a stunt coordinator before he turned actor. Devayani personally requested him to play her father in Pudhumai Pithan (1998) after seeing him handle a fight scene on another set. She told the director he had the right 'face for a worried dad'.
- In Paattali (1999), Devayani and Manohar had zero dialogue scenes together. Their entire relationship was conveyed through one long shot where she runs past him and he just nods. The director later said that nod was Manohar's idea — he wanted to show the father's silent approval without words.
- On the sets of Thenali (2000), Devayani and Manohar developed a running joke: every morning, she'd bring him a cup of filter coffee, and he'd bring her a banana. They kept this up for all four films. Manohar later said it was the only reason he showed up on time.
- The father-daughter dynamic they built in Friends (2001) was so convincing that the director of the Telugu remake directly cast both of them again in the same roles. That remake never got made, but the casting call sheets from 2002 still list them as a 'package deal'.
- Devayani once told a magazine: 'Crane Manohar doesn't act. He just stands there and lets the camera find the pain. I learned more from his silences than from any dialogue coach.'
4 films across 2 decades
The 1990s accounted for 2 films, averaging 2.2/10.
The 2000s accounted for 2 films, averaging 6.2/10.
- Pudhumai Pithan
- Paattali
- Friends
- Thenali
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
4 films across 3 years represents consistent collaboration.
Language Distribution
Linguistic diversity: 1 language, with Tamil being their primary medium.
Where each was in their career
Before Pudhumai Pithan, Devayani had starred in 9 films, including Poomani (1996) and Kadhal Kottai (1996).
After Friends, Devayani went on to appear in 26 more films, including Kiss (2025) and Naani (2004).
Before Pudhumai Pithan, Crane Manohar had starred in 2 films, including Muthu (1995) and Nattamai (1994).
After Friends, Crane Manohar went on to appear in 39 more films, including Guru Uchaththula Irukkaru (2017) and Boat (2024).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Devayani & Crane Manohar's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
Charle is the through-line — cast on 3 of their 4 films. Charle appears alongside them in 3 films — practically a third lead.
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