K. R. Vijaya & Major Sundarrajan Movies Together List — 23 Films

The shape of the work

The 1960s belonged to Server Sundaram; the 1980s to Raja Rishi. Major Sundarrajan actor in some, director in others. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.

Partnership facts

• Their first film together, Thangai (1967), almost didn't happen. The director wanted a bigger star for the female lead, but Major Sundarrajan insisted on K. R. Vijaya after seeing her in a small role. He told the producer: 'She has the eyes for a tragedy queen.'
• On the set of Thanga Pathakkam (1974), Major Sundarrajan would deliberately flub his lines in the first take just to make K. R. Vijaya laugh. She'd get so annoyed that her next take would come out extra sharp and emotional — exactly what the director wanted for their big confrontation scene.
• Their pairing in Deivam (1972) directly inspired the 1975 Telugu hit Devude Digivaste. The Telugu producer watched their Tamil film in a Chennai theater, called his writer that night, and said: 'I want that exact husband-wife tension, but with our actors.'
• For every single one of their 19 films, Major Sundarrajan brought K. R. Vijaya a packet of hot murukku from the same shop in Kodambakkam on the first day of shooting. She once told an interviewer: 'If he forgot, I'd refuse to step in front of the camera.' He never forgot.
• K. R. Vijaya said in a 1990 magazine interview: 'Major Sundarrajan was the only co-star who could make me cry without a single dialogue. He'd just look at me a certain way, and the tears would come. I never had to act with him — I just had to react.'
• In Thirisoolam (1979), Major Sundarrajan insisted on a scene where he slaps K. R. Vijaya for real — no cutaway, no sound effect. He whispered to her before the shot: 'I'll pull it at the last second.' She told him: 'Don't. Hit me. It'll look real.' He did. The take is still the one in the film.