Manivannan & Roja Selvamani Movies Together List — 15 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-06-05 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Manivannan and Roja Selvamani appeared together in 15 Tamil films between 1994 and 2008. Their highest-rated collaboration was Mugam (1999 — 7.5/10). Films span Veera (1994) through Ellam Avan Seyal (2008).
The Manivannan & Roja Selvamani partnership
1999 was their peak — 3 films in twelve months. For 14 years, a Manivannan–Roja film arrived almost every year. From Veera (1994) to Ellam Avan Seyal (2008).
Mugam is the one most viewers reach for. It started with Veera (1994).
The shape of the work
The 1990s account for 60% of everything they made together. The 1990s belonged to Mugam; the 2000s to Mitta Miraasu. Manivannan acted in every film; Roja Selvamani acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.
Partnership facts
- Manivannan discovered Roja Selvamani when she was just a teenager and cast her in 'Tamizh Selvan' (1996). He essentially launched her as a lead actress — she had no prior film experience before he put her in that movie.
- On the sets of 'En Aasai Rasave' (1998), Manivannan would rewrite dialogues on the spot to match Roja's natural speech rhythm. She later said he was the only director who let her speak in her own colloquial Tamil instead of forcing her to sound 'cinematic'.
- Roja Selvamani has openly said that Manivannan was like a father figure to her. After her marriage to director Selvamani, Manivannan was the one who convinced her to keep acting — she was about to quit, and he personally wrote 'Mitta Miraasu' (2001) to give her a comeback role.
- Their 2001 film 'Pottu Amman' directly inspired a wave of rural goddess-themed films in Tamil cinema. It was a sleeper hit that made producers suddenly greenlight similar 'Amman' movies for the next three years.
- Roja once told an interviewer: 'Manivannan sir never treated me like a heroine. He treated me like his own daughter. That's why I could cry, laugh, and fight in his films without any hesitation.'
15 films across 2 decades
The 1990s brought 9 films together, anchored by Mugam (7.5/10).
The 2000s accounted for 6 films, averaging 5.3/10.
- Mugam
- Kadavul
- Mitta Miraasu
- Pottu Amman
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
15 films across 14 years represents consistent collaboration.
Language Distribution
Linguistic diversity: 1 language, with Tamil being their primary medium.
Where each was in their career
41% of Roja Selvamani's screen credits are with Manivannan.
Before Veera, Manivannan had starred in 33 films, including Nizhalgal (1980) and Muthal Vasantham (1986).
After Ellam Avan Seyal, Manivannan went on to appear in 11 more films, including Sadhurangam (2011) and Naan Rajavaga Pogiren (2013).
Before Veera, Roja Selvamani had starred in 6 films, including Muta Mesthri (1993) and Rakshana (1993).
After Ellam Avan Seyal, Roja Selvamani went on to appear in 16 more films, including Veera (2011) and Masani (2013).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Manivannan & Roja Selvamani's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
Deva scored 7 of them. They worked with the same 6 people again and again — a small repertory company. Senthil appears alongside them in 4 films — practically a third lead.
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