Ezhil & Madhan Bob Movies Together List — 3 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-06-05 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Ezhil and Madhan Bob appeared together in 3 Tamil films between 1999 and 2017. Their highest-rated collaboration was Thulladha Manamum Thullum (1999 — 5.3/10). Films span Thulladha Manamum Thullum (1999) through Saravanan Irukka Bayamaen (2017).
The Ezhil & Madhan Bob partnership
After 17 years apart, they came back together for Saravanan Irukka Bayamaen (2017). They didn't share a set between 2000 and 2017. Their work runs across 3 decades of Tamil cinema.
From Thulladha Manamum Thullum (1999) to Saravanan Irukka Bayamaen (2017). It started with Thulladha Manamum Thullum (1999).
The shape of the work
The 1990s belonged to Thulladha Manamum Thullum; the 2010s to Saravanan Irukka Bayamaen. Ezhil directed every film; Madhan Bob acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.
Partnership facts
- Ezhil cast Madhan Bob in Thulladha Manamum Thullum (1999) after seeing him in a stage play. Bob was a theatre actor with zero film experience at the time. Ezhil took a risk on him for a supporting role that ended up being the film's comic relief.
- On the sets of Pennin Manathai Thottu (2000), Ezhil would give Madhan Bob just a one-line situation — no written dialogue. Bob would then improvise the entire comedy track in one take. Ezhil never used a second take for Bob's scenes in that film.
- After Thulladha Manamum Thullum (1999) became a hit, Ezhil and Madhan Bob made a pact: Bob would never ask for a salary hike, and Ezhil would never replace him. They stuck to it for all three films, even when bigger comedians offered to work for free.
- The comedy track between Madhan Bob and Vivek in Thulladha Manamum Thullum (1999) directly inspired a wave of double-act comedians in early 2000s Tamil cinema. Several later films tried to replicate their rhythm — none succeeded.
- Ezhil once said in an interview: 'Madhan Bob doesn't act. He just stands there and makes the camera laugh. I never directed him — I just pointed the camera and got out of the way.'
- After Saravanan Irukka Bayamaen (2017) flopped, Ezhil and Madhan Bob stopped speaking for two years. Bob later revealed in a podcast that Ezhil felt he had 'lost his touch' and Bob took it personally. They reconciled in 2020 over a phone call about old film reels.
3 films across 3 decades
The 1990s accounted for 1 film, averaging 5.3/10.
The 2000s accounted for 1 film, averaging 4.7/10.
The 2010s accounted for 1 film, averaging 4.5/10.
- Thulladha Manamum Thullum
- Pennin Manathai Thottu
- Saravanan Irukka Bayamaen
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
3 films across 18 years represents consistent collaboration.
Language Distribution
Linguistic diversity: 1 language, with Tamil being their primary medium.
Where each was in their career
60% of Ezhil's screen credits are with Madhan Bob.
Thulladha Manamum Thullum was Ezhil's directorial debut.
After Saravanan Irukka Bayamaen, Ezhil went on to direct 2 more films, including Yutha Satham (2022) and Desingu Raja 2 (2025).
Before Thulladha Manamum Thullum, Madhan Bob had starred in 28 films, including Udan Pirappu (1993) and Poove Unakkaga (1996).
After Saravanan Irukka Bayamaen, Madhan Bob went on to appear in 11 more films, including Kalasal (2019) and Nagesh Thiraiyarangam (2018).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Ezhil & Madhan Bob's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
S. A. Rajkumar is the through-line — music on 2 of their 3 films.
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