Suresh & Ilayaraja Movies Together List — 19 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-06-03 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Suresh and Ilayaraja appeared together in 19 Tamil films between 1981 and 1994. Their highest-rated collaboration was Nandu (1981 — 7.5/10). Films span Nandu (1981) through Veetla Visheshanga (1994).
The Suresh & Ilayaraja partnership
1982 was their peak — 3 films in twelve months. For 13 years, a Suresh–Ilayaraja film arrived almost every year. The work is uneven: Nandu (7.5) at one end, Ninaikka Therindha Manamey (1.0) at the other.
From Nandu (1981) to Veetla Visheshanga (1994). Iniya Uravu Poothathu (1987, 7.5/10) is the underseen one in the catalogue.
19 films across 2 decades
The 1980s brought 17 films together, anchored by Nandu (7.5/10).
The 1990s accounted for 2 films, averaging 3.8/10.
- Nandu
- Panneer Pushpangal
- Valli
- Veetla Visheshanga0
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
19 films across 13 years represents consistent collaboration.
Language Distribution
Linguistic diversity: 1 language, with Tamil being their primary medium.
Where each was in their career
35% of Suresh's screen credits are with Ilayaraja. After Veetla Visheshanga, Ilayaraja kept going for 118 more films; Suresh stepped back.
Nandu was Suresh's acting debut.
After Veetla Visheshanga, Suresh went on to appear in 35 more films, including Saivam (2014) and Subrahmanyapuram (2018).
Nandu was Ilayaraja's acting debut.
After Veetla Visheshanga, Ilayaraja went on to appear in 118 more films, including Pithamagan (2003) and Merku Thodarchi Malai (2018).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Suresh & Ilayaraja's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
Jeevitha appears alongside them in 3 films — practically a third lead.
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