Senthil & Vijayakanth Movies Together List — 29 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-07-12 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Senthil and Vijayakanth appeared together in 29 Tamil films between 1983 and 2004. Their highest-rated collaboration was Nalla Naal (1984 — 7.5/10). Films span Saatchi (1983) through Neranja Manasu (2004).
The Senthil & Vijayakanth partnership
Their work runs across 3 decades of Tamil cinema. 1986 was their peak — 5 films in twelve months. For 21 years, a Senthil–Vijayakanth film arrived almost every year.
The work is uneven: Nalla Naal (7.5) at one end, Thirumoorthi (1.0) at the other. From Saatchi (1983) to Neranja Manasu (2004).
The shape of the work
The 1980s account for 66% of everything they made together. The 1980s belonged to Nalla Naal; the 2000s to Neranja Manasu. Senthil acted in every film; Vijayakanth acted in all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.
Partnership facts
- Their first film together, Saatchi (1983), almost didn't happen. Director S. A. Chandrasekhar cast Vijayakanth as the lead, but needed a comedian who could match his intensity. He picked Senthil after seeing him in a stage play — and Senthil's first scene with Vijayakanth reportedly got the crew laughing so hard they had to reshoot.
- Vijayakanth was known for his serious, action-heavy roles, but Senthil's timing forced him to loosen up. In Nalla Naal (1984), Vijayakanth admitted in an interview that he kept breaking character during Senthil's dialogue delivery — the director had to do multiple takes because Vijayakanth couldn't stop laughing.
- Their 1986 hit Amman Kovil Kizhakale directly inspired the trend of pairing a stoic hero with a comic sidekick in rural family dramas. Films like Chinna Gounder and then later Rajinikanth's Padayappa borrowed this template — but Senthil and Vijayakanth were the first to make it work consistently.
- Off-screen, Senthil was the only co-star Vijayakanth trusted to improvise his lines. On the sets of Uzhavan Magan (1987), Senthil would rewrite his own comedy bits on the spot, and Vijayakanth would nod approval without even reading the script — he just said 'enna Senthil, unakku comedy theriyum, pannu' (you know comedy, go ahead).
- Vijayakanth once said about Senthil: 'He is the only actor who made me forget my lines. I would just watch him and laugh. That's why I did so many films with him — I wanted to keep laughing.' This was from a 1994 interview with a Tamil weekly.
- In Pulan Visaranai (1990), a police thriller, Senthil's character was originally written as a serious informant. But after the first day of shoot, Vijayakanth told the director to let Senthil add comedy. Senthil turned the role into a bumbling sidekick — and the film's comic track became more popular than the main plot.
29 films across 3 decades
The 1980s brought 19 films together, anchored by Nalla Naal (7.5/10).
The 1990s accounted for 8 films, averaging 3.9/10.
The 2000s accounted for 2 films, averaging 5.3/10.
- Nalla Naal
- Pudhiya Theerpu
- Sakkarai Devan
- Sethupathi IPS
- Neranja Manasu
- Devan
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
29 films across 21 years represents consistent collaboration.
Language Distribution
Linguistic diversity: 1 language, with Tamil being their primary medium.
Where each was in their career
59% of Senthil's screen credits are with Vijayakanth.
Before Saatchi, Senthil had starred in 4 films, including Pasi (1979) and Archanai Pookal (1982).
After Neranja Manasu, Senthil went on to appear in 16 more films, including Kanne Kalaimaane (2019) and Kick (2023).
Before Saatchi, Vijayakanth had starred in 15 films, including Parvayin Marupakkam (1982) and Nenjile Thunivirunthal (1981).
After Neranja Manasu, Vijayakanth went on to appear in 12 more films, including Sudesi (2006) and Sabari (2007).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Senthil & Vijayakanth's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
Ilayaraja is the through-line — music on 15 of their 29 films. Ilayaraja scored 15 of them. They worked with the same 22 people again and again — a small repertory company.
12
6
5
5
5
5
4
4
4
3
3
33
3
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
222
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
22
22
2
22
154
33
2
Other iconic Tamil director-actor duos
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