Manivannan & Ramesh Khanna Movies Together List — 8 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-06-04 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Manivannan and Ramesh Khanna appeared together in 8 Tamil films between 1999 and 2003. Their highest-rated collaboration was Thodarum (1999 — 6.8/10). Films span Thodarum (1999) through Anjaneya (2003).
The Manivannan & Ramesh Khanna partnership
Between 1999 and 2003, they barely worked apart — 8 films in 4 years. 2003 was their peak — 3 films in twelve months. For 4 years, a Manivannan–Ramesh film arrived almost every year.
The work is uneven: Thodarum (6.8) at one end, Asathal (1.0) at the other. From Thodarum (1999) to Anjaneya (2003).
The shape of the work
The 2000s account for 75% of everything they made together. The 1990s belonged to Thodarum; the 2000s to Anjaneya. Manivannan acted in every film; Ramesh Khanna acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.
Partnership facts
- Manivannan cast Ramesh Khanna in Thodarum (1999) after seeing him in a stage play. Ramesh was a theatre actor with zero film experience at that point. Manivannan took a bet on him.
- On the sets of Chinna Raja (1999), Manivannan would write dialogues in the morning and hand them to Ramesh Khanna just before the shot. Ramesh had to memorise and deliver them in one take. That pressure became their rhythm.
- In Pammal K. Sambandam (2002), Manivannan deliberately gave Ramesh Khanna long, winding monologues. He knew Ramesh could hold the camera without blinking. The scene where Ramesh explains the 'sambandam' theory is entirely his timing.
- After Military (2003) flopped, Manivannan and Ramesh Khanna never worked together again. No fallout — just drifted. Ramesh later said in an interview that Manivannan never called him for another film, and he never asked why.
- Ramesh Khanna once said: 'Manivannan sir would yell at me in front of everyone, but after the shot, he'd quietly tell me, "You made that line work." That's how he taught me.'
- Their film Thodarum (1999) introduced a young comedian named Vivek in a supporting role. Vivek later credited Manivannan and Ramesh Khanna's set atmosphere for teaching him how to time a punchline.
8 films across 2 decades
The 1990s accounted for 2 films, averaging 5.2/10.
The 2000s accounted for 6 films, averaging 4.1/10.
- Thodarum
- Chinna Raja
- Anjaneya
- Pammal K. Sambandam
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
8 films across 4 years represents consistent collaboration.
Language Distribution
Linguistic diversity: 1 language, with Tamil being their primary medium.
Where each was in their career
When they first worked together, Manivannan had 101 films behind them; Ramesh Khanna had 4.
Before Thodarum, Manivannan had starred in 101 films, including Nizhalgal (1980) and Thai Maaman (1994).
After Anjaneya, Manivannan went on to appear in 39 more films, including Meesai Madhavan (2004) and Sivappathigaram (2006).
Before Thodarum, Ramesh Khanna had starred in 4 films, including Aan Paavam (1985) and Kadhal Mannan (1998).
After Anjaneya, Ramesh Khanna went on to appear in 29 more films, including Kanne Kalaimaane (2019) and Vattaram (2006).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Manivannan & Ramesh Khanna's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
Deva scored 3 of them. Ajith Kumar appears alongside them in 3 films — practically a third lead.
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