Vijay Sethupathi & Arun Kumar Movies Together List — 3 Films

The shape of the work

Vijay Sethupathi acted in every film; Arun Kumar directed all of them. Strictly Tamil cinema — they never crossed industries together.

Partnership facts

• Arun Kumar cast Vijay Sethupathi in Pannaiyarum Padminiyum (2014) after seeing his performance in Pizza — but the role was originally written for an older actor. Sethupathi was 36 at the time, playing a 60-year-old village head. He grew a real beard and refused to shave for the entire shoot.
• On the set of Sethupathi (2016), Arun Kumar let Vijay Sethupathi improvise most of his dialogue. The result? That iconic 'Naan oru thadavu sonna, nooru thadavu sonna maadhiri' line — it wasn't in the script. Sethupathi made it up during the first take.
• Sindhubaadh (2019) was a critical disaster (4.6/10) but a commercial hit. Because of its box office success, Arun Kumar got the green light to direct his next film — which launched a new star kid into Tamil cinema. That film was Nenjam Marappathillai (2021), introducing Regina Cassandra in a lead role.
• During the Pannaiyarum Padminiyum shoot, Arun Kumar and Vijay Sethupathi shared a small room in a village for two months. They cooked their own meals. Sethupathi later said that's when they became 'real friends, not just co-workers.'
• Arun Kumar once said in an interview: 'Vijay Sethupathi doesn't act. He just becomes the character. I just had to point the camera at him and stay out of his way.'