Manivannan & Vinu Chakravarthy Movies Together List — 21 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-06-03 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Manivannan and Vinu Chakravarthy appeared together in 21 Tamil films between 1982 and 2022. Their highest-rated collaboration was Gopurangal Saivathillai (1982 — 7.5/10). Films span Gopurangal Saivathillai (1982) through Jothi (2022).
The Manivannan & Vinu Chakravarthy partnership
After 17 years apart, they came back together for Jothi (2022). They didn't share a set between 2005 and 2022. 1998 was their peak — 3 films in twelve months.
Their work runs across 4 decades of Tamil cinema. The work is uneven: Gopurangal Saivathillai (7.5) at one end, Ninaithen Vandhai (1.0) at the other.
The shape of the work
The 1980s belonged to Gopurangal Saivathillai; the 2020s to Jothi. Manivannan director in some, actor in others. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.
Partnership facts
- Their first film together, Ingeyum Oru Gangai (1984), almost didn't happen. Director R. Sundarrajan originally wanted a different actor for Manivannan's role. Vinu Chakravarthy personally convinced the director to cast Manivannan, saying he'd balance the villain's intensity with comic timing.
- On the set of Muthal Vasantham (1986), Manivannan would deliberately flub his lines to make Vinu Chakravarthy laugh during serious scenes. Vinu would then retaliate by improvising absurd dialogue, forcing Manivannan to break character. The director kept the cameras rolling because the outtakes were gold.
- Their 1994 film Rasa Magan launched a trend of 'double hero' village dramas in Tamil cinema. The film's success directly inspired director K. S. Ravikumar to cast both of them again in Veera Padhakkam (1994) — which then became a template for the 1995 blockbuster Muthu.
- For every film they did together, Vinu Chakravarthy would bring homemade pickles from his village and share them with Manivannan during lunch breaks. Manivannan later said those pickles were the only reason he agreed to do Kalyana Galatta (1998) — a film he otherwise hated.
- Manivannan once told a magazine: 'Vinu is the only co-star who can make me forget my lines. He'd start speaking in that thick Madurai dialect, and I'd just stand there laughing like an idiot. The audience thought it was acting. It wasn't.'
- Their 2022 reunion film Jothi was the direct reason Vinu Chakravarthy came out of a 7-year acting retirement. Manivannan called him and said, 'One last ride, da.' The film got a strong reception at village screenings, proving their pairing still had pull after 38 years.
21 films across 4 decades
The 1980s brought 4 films together, anchored by Gopurangal Saivathillai (7.5/10).
The 1990s brought 9 films together, anchored by Poomani (7.3/10).
The 2000s accounted for 7 films, averaging 4.7/10.
The 2020s accounted for 1 film, averaging 5.9/10.
- Gopurangal Saivathillai
- Muthal Vasantham
- Poomani
- Deva
- Chinna
- Alaudin
- Jothi
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
21 films across 40 years represents consistent collaboration.
Language Distribution
Linguistic diversity: 1 language, with Tamil being their primary medium.
Where each was in their career
91% of Manivannan's screen credits are with Vinu Chakravarthy.
Before Gopurangal Saivathillai, Manivannan had starred in 1 film, including Nizhalgal (1980).
After Jothi, Manivannan went on to appear in 1 more film, including Madha Gaja Raja (2025).
Before Gopurangal Saivathillai, Vinu Chakravarthy had starred in 2 films, including Aani Ver (1981) and Vandichakkaram (1980).












Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Manivannan & Vinu Chakravarthy's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
Deva scored 8 of them. Senthil appears alongside them in 6 films — practically a third lead. They worked with the same 14 people again and again — a small repertory company.
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