Bharathiraja & Sridevi Movies Together List — 3 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-06-03 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Bharathiraja and Sridevi appeared together in 3 Tamil films between 1977 and 1979. Their highest-rated collaboration was Padhinaru Vayadhiniley (1977 — 8.4/10). Films span Padhinaru Vayadhiniley (1977) through Solva Sawan (1979).
The Bharathiraja & Sridevi partnership
From Padhinaru Vayadhiniley (1977) to Solva Sawan (1979). Sigappu Rojakkal (1978, 7.5/10) is the underseen one in the catalogue. Padhinaru Vayadhiniley is the one most viewers reach for.
The played out closed with Solva Sawan in 1979. It started with Padhinaru Vayadhiniley (1977).
The shape of the work
Bharathiraja directed every film; Sridevi acted in all of them.
Partnership facts
- Bharathiraja cast Sridevi in Padhinaru Vayadhiniley (1977) after seeing her in a Telugu film. He was convinced she could play the innocent village girl — but she was only 13, and he had to convince her mother to let her act in a Tamil film that had a romantic angle.
- In Sigappu Rojakkal (1978), Bharathiraja deliberately broke Sridevi's usual bubbly image. He made her play a terrified, silent wife opposite a psychopath. She later said he pushed her to act with just her eyes — no dialogue, no smile. That film changed how Tamil cinema saw her.
- Padhinaru Vayadhiniley (1977) launched both of them into the big league. It was Bharathiraja's first directorial hit and Sridevi's first major Tamil success. The film's raw village romance started a whole new trend in Tamil cinema — the 'realistic rural love story' that directors like Balu Mahendra and later Mani Ratnam would build on.
- Bharathiraja was famously protective of Sridevi on set. During Sigappu Rojakkal, the intense scenes with Kamal Haasan made her uncomfortable. The director would stop shooting, take her aside, and talk her through the scene until she felt safe. She called him 'annan' (elder brother) off-screen.
- Bharathiraja once said in an interview: 'Sridevi was not just an actress — she was my instrument. I could ask her to cry, laugh, or go silent, and she would deliver exactly what the scene needed. No other actress gave me that kind of control.'
- For Solva Sawan (1979), Bharathiraja wrote the female lead specifically with Sridevi in mind — a city-bred woman caught between tradition and modernity. He shot her in sarees and modern outfits in the same film, using her versatility to show the character's conflict. It was the first time he let her play a layered, urban woman instead of a village girl.
3 films across 1 decade
- Padhinaru Vayadhiniley
- Sigappu Rojakkal
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
3 films across 2 years represents consistent collaboration.
Language Distribution
Linguistic diversity: 2 languages, with Tamil being their primary medium.
Where each was in their career
After Solva Sawan, Sridevi kept going for 83 more films; Bharathiraja stepped back.
Padhinaru Vayadhiniley was Bharathiraja's directorial debut.
After Solva Sawan, Bharathiraja went on to direct 56 more films, including Nizhalgal (1980) and Kizhakku Cheemayile (1993).
Before Padhinaru Vayadhiniley, Sridevi had starred in 4 films, including Moondru Mudichu (1976) and Kaun Sachcha Kaun Jhootha (1972).
After Solva Sawan, Sridevi went on to appear in 83 more films, including Varumayin Niram Sigappu (1980) and English Vinglish (2012).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Bharathiraja & Sridevi's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
Goundamani is the through-line — cast on 2 of their 3 films.
