K. R. Vijaya & Thengai Srinivasan Movies Together List — 20 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-07-19 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
K. R. Vijaya and Thengai Srinivasan appeared together in 20 Tamil films between 1964 and 1986. Their highest-rated collaboration was Annai Velankanni (1971 — 7.8/10). Films span Ullasa Payanam (1964) through Mel Maruvathoor Arpudhangal (1986).
The K. R. Vijaya & Thengai Srinivasan partnership
Their work runs across 3 decades of Tamil cinema. 1979 was their peak — 3 films in twelve months. For 22 years, a K.–Thengai film arrived almost every year.
The work is uneven: Annai Velankanni (7.8) at one end, Mel Maruvathoor Arpudhangal (1.0) at the other. From Ullasa Payanam (1964) to Mel Maruvathoor Arpudhangal (1986).
The shape of the work
The 1960s belonged to Ullasa Payanam; the 1980s to Apoorva Sahodarigal. K. R. Vijaya acted in every film; Thengai Srinivasan acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.
Partnership facts
- Their first film together, Ullasa Payanam (1964), was a comedy road movie. The director paired them because both had a natural deadpan timing — Vijaya could keep a straight face while Srinivasan went wild. That contrast became their signature.
- In Thirisoolam (1979), Srinivasan would deliberately flub his lines during rehearsals to make Vijaya laugh. She never broke character on camera, but off-camera she'd chase him with a slipper. That tension — his chaos, her control — is what made their comic scenes crackle.
- Their pairing in Gaslight Mangamma (1977) was so popular that the director wrote a sequel specifically for them — but it never got made because Srinivasan's health declined. That unmade film is still talked about among old Madras film buffs.
- They had a standing bet on every film set: whoever forgot their lines first had to buy the other a box of Mysore Pak. Vijaya claims she won 12 of their 16 films. Srinivasan always said she cheated by memorizing his lines too.
- Vijaya once said in a 1985 interview: 'Thengai made me work harder. If I didn't match his energy, the scene would fall flat. He never let me be lazy.'
20 films across 3 decades
The 1960s accounted for 2 films.
The 1970s brought 10 films together, anchored by Annai Velankanni (7.8/10).
The 1980s brought 8 films together, anchored by Apoorva Sahodarigal (7.5/10).
- Ullasa Payanam0
- Kanne Pappa0
- Annai Velankanni
- Thirisoolam
- Apoorva Sahodarigal
- Padikkaatha Pannaiyar
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
20 films across 22 years represents consistent collaboration.
Language Distribution
Linguistic diversity: 1 language, with Tamil being their primary medium.
Where each was in their career
33% of K. R. Vijaya's screen credits are with Thengai Srinivasan. After Mel Maruvathoor Arpudhangal, K. R. Vijaya kept going for 38 more films; Thengai Srinivasan stepped back.
Before Ullasa Payanam, K. R. Vijaya had starred in 2 films, including Karpagam (1963) and Karpagam (1963).
After Mel Maruvathoor Arpudhangal, K. R. Vijaya went on to appear in 38 more films, including Veedu (1988) and Sri Rama Rajyam (2011).
Ullasa Payanam was Thengai Srinivasan's acting debut.
After Mel Maruvathoor Arpudhangal, Thengai Srinivasan went on to appear in 3 more films, including Krishnan Vandhan (1987) and Rettai Vaal Kuruvi (1987).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of K. R. Vijaya & Thengai Srinivasan's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
M. S. Viswanathan scored 9 of them. They worked with the same 14 people again and again — a small repertory company. Major Sundarrajan appears alongside them in 8 films — practically a third lead.
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32
2
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9
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223
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