Devayani & Manivannan Movies Together List — 14 Films

The shape of the work

The 1990s account for 86% of everything they made together. The 1990s belonged to Poomani; the 2000s to Samasthanam. Devayani acted in every film; Manivannan acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.

Partnership facts

• Manivannan didn't just act with Devayani — he directed her in three of their seven films together. Their first collaboration, Poomani (1996), was actually directed by him. He cast her as the female lead when she was still a newcomer, giving her one of her earliest breaks.
• In Periya Idathu Maapillai (1997), Manivannan played Devayani's father — a role he'd repeat in later films. That age-gap dynamic became their trademark: he was the stern or comic father figure, she was the daughter caught between tradition and love. It worked because he never overplayed the patriarch; he let her emotional scenes lead.
• Devayani has said in interviews that Manivannan was like a father figure to her off-screen too. He personally coached her through emotional scenes on the sets of Thodarum (1999), often pulling her aside before a take to whisper the backstory of the character. She called him 'Mani sir' even after they stopped working together.
• Their film Udhavikku Varalaamaa (1998) was a rare female-centric comedy-drama in an era dominated by male stars. Devayani played the lead, and Manivannan played her comic sidekick — a role reversal that was almost unheard of in Tamil cinema at the time. It quietly proved that a woman could carry a film with a veteran actor supporting her.
• Devayani once said about Manivannan: 'He never treated me like a junior artiste. Even when he was directing me, he'd ask my opinion on the scene. That trust made me give my best.'
• Their worst-rated film together, Samasthanam (2002), was also their last. By then, Manivannan had shifted to playing villain roles, and Devayani's career was slowing down. The film bombed hard, and they never worked together again — not because of a fallout, but because the industry moved on from both their typical roles.