Manivannan & Kushboo Movies Together List — 9 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-06-05 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Manivannan and Kushboo appeared together in 9 Tamil films between 1996 and 2000. Their highest-rated collaboration was Unnai Kann Theduthey (2000 — 6.5/10). Films span Gopala Gopala (1996) through Unnai Kann Theduthey (2000).
The Manivannan & Kushboo partnership
Between 1996 and 2000, they barely worked apart — 9 films in 4 years. 1998 was their peak — 4 films in twelve months. For 4 years, a Manivannan–Kushboo film arrived almost every year.
They saved their best for last — Unnai Kann Theduthey (6.5/10) came 4 years in. From Gopala Gopala (1996) to Unnai Kann Theduthey (2000).
The shape of the work
The 1990s account for 89% of everything they made together. The 1990s belonged to Minsara Kanna; the 2000s to Unnai Kann Theduthey. Manivannan acted in every film; Kushboo acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.
Partnership facts
- Manivannan and Kushboo first paired up in Gopala Gopala (1996) because the director, M. S. Raju, bet on their unlikely age gap — Manivannan was 20 years older — to create a comedic tension that no other pair had tried before.
- On the sets of Veera Thalattu (1998), Kushboo would deliberately flub her lines in the first take to make Manivannan laugh, and he'd then improvise a counter-joke — that back-and-forth became their signature rhythm in all seven films.
- Their 1998 hit Simmarasi directly inspired director K. S. Ravikumar to cast the same pair in his next film, leading to the trend of older hero-younger heroine comedy pairs in late-90s Tamil cinema.
- Manivannan and Kushboo had a standing bet on every film: whoever forgot their lines first had to buy biryani for the entire crew. Kushboo lost most bets, but Manivannan always split the bill anyway.
- Kushboo once said in a 2001 interview: 'Manivannan made me look like a better actress than I was. He'd slow down his dialogue delivery just enough so my reaction would land first.'
9 films across 2 decades
The 1990s accounted for 8 films, averaging 4.5/10.
The 2000s accounted for 1 film, averaging 6.5/10.
- Minsara Kanna
- Veera Thalattu
- Unnai Kann Theduthey
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
9 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
After Unnai Kann Theduthey, Manivannan kept going for 67 more films; Kushboo stepped back. By the time of Gopala Gopala, both already had careers — Manivannan with 47 films, Kushboo with 56.
Before Gopala Gopala, Manivannan had starred in 47 films, including Nizhalgal (1980) and Thai Maaman (1994).
After Unnai Kann Theduthey, Manivannan went on to appear in 67 more films, including Piriyadha Varam Vendum (2001) and Solla Marandha Kadhai (2002).
Before Gopala Gopala, Kushboo had starred in 56 films, including Nadigan (1990) and Chinna Vathiyar (1995).
After Unnai Kann Theduthey, Kushboo went on to appear in 16 more films, including Periyar (2007) and Vinnukum Mannukum (2001).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Manivannan & Kushboo's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
Deva is the through-line — music on 5 of their 9 films. Deva scored 5 of them. Senthil appears alongside them in 3 films — practically a third lead.
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
5
Other iconic Tamil director-actor duos
Discover other partnerships with comparable filmographies and ratings
