T. Rajendar & S. S. Chandran Movies Together List — 3 Films

The shape of the work

Never on the same side of the camera — T. Rajendar music composer, S. S. Chandran actor, across all 3 films. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.

Partnership facts

• T. Rajendar cast S. S. Chandran in 'Uyirullavarai Usha' (1983) after Chandran begged him for a role. Rajendar initially said no — he thought Chandran's comic style was too loud. Chandran showed up on set uninvited and did a test scene. Rajendar kept it in the final cut.
• On 'Mythili Ennai Kaathali' (1986), Rajendar would write dialogue in the morning and hand it to Chandran minutes before the shot. Chandran never rehearsed. He'd read it once, then deliver it in one take — often funnier than what was on paper. Rajendar started writing longer scenes just to see what Chandran would do.
• During the shoot of 'En Thangai' (1989), Rajendar and Chandran shared a room in a small lodge in Tenkasi. Every night after pack-up, they'd argue about who was the better mimic — Rajendar would do Sivaji Ganesan, Chandran would do M. G. Ramachandran. The hotel owner finally asked them to stop at 2 AM.
• The comedy track between Rajendar and Chandran in 'Uyirullavarai Usha' (1983) was so popular that it directly inspired the 'double hero comedy' template in Tamil cinema. Director K. Bhagyaraj later admitted he wrote 'Mouna Ragam' (1986) with that same back-and-forth energy in mind.
• S. S. Chandran once said about Rajendar: 'He gave me the freedom to ruin his scenes. No other director let me do that. I ruined every scene he wrote for me — and he loved it.'