K. Bhagyaraj & Livingston Movies Together List — 3 Films

The shape of the work

The 1980s belonged to Vidhi; the 1990s to Oru Oorla Oru Rajakumari. K. Bhagyaraj acted in every film; Livingston acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.

Partnership facts

• Bhagyaraj didn't just cast Livingston in 'Vidhi' (1984) — he wrote the role specifically for him after watching Livingston struggle in small parts. He told a magazine later that he saw 'a coiled spring' in Livingston that no one else had bothered to unwind.
• On the set of 'Oru Oorla Oru Rajakumari' (1995), Bhagyaraj would deliberately flub his lines in the first take just to make Livingston laugh. He said it loosened Livingston up for the real take — and the outtakes became legendary among the crew.
• Livingston was the only actor Bhagyaraj trusted to direct a scene when he had to step away for a family emergency during 'Suyamvaram' (1999). Livingston finished the entire song sequence without a single reshoot.
• Livingston once said in a 2001 interview: 'Bhagyaraj sir doesn't give you a script. He gives you a situation and a look. If you catch the look, the scene writes itself.'
• The comic timing they locked in 'Vidhi' (1984) directly influenced how director K. S. Ravikumar wrote the banter between Livingston and Goundamani in later films. Ravikumar has admitted he studied their 'Vidhi' scenes frame by frame.