Vijay Sethupathi & Nayantara Movies Together List — 5 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-07-12 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Vijay Sethupathi and Nayantara appeared together in 5 Tamil films between 2015 and 2023. Their highest-rated collaboration was Jawan (2023 — 7.6/10). Films span Naanum Rowdydhaan (2015) through Jawan (2023).
The Vijay Sethupathi & Nayantara partnership
They saved their best for last — Jawan (7.6/10) came 8 years in. Between 2015 and 2023, they barely worked apart — 5 films in 8 years. From Naanum Rowdydhaan (2015) to Jawan (2023).
Their most recent film, Jawan, came out in 2023 — the partnership is still active. Jawan is the one most viewers reach for.
The shape of the work
The 2010s account for 60% of everything they made together. The 2010s belonged to Imaikkaa Nodigal; the 2020s to Jawan. Vijay Sethupathi acted in every film; Nayantara acted in all of them. Mostly Tamil, with 1 film in Telugu.
Partnership facts
- Vijay Sethupathi and Nayanthara first shared screen in Naanum Rowdydhaan (2015) only because the director, Vignesh Shivan, was dating Nayanthara at the time — he wrote the role of a quirky don specifically to pair them, and it became the film that made audiences take their pairing seriously.
- In Imaikkaa Nodigal (2018), Nayanthara played a cold-blooded serial killer while Sethupathi played the cop chasing her — and they never shared a single dialogue scene. Their entire conflict was built through parallel edits and a climactic stare-down, proving they could generate tension without exchanging a word.
- Their 2022 film Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal was the first Tamil film to openly explore a polyamorous love story between a man and two women, with Nayanthara and Sethupathi playing one of the couples. It directly inspired a wave of mainstream Tamil films discussing non-monogamy, though none matched its box office.
- On the sets of Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy (2019), where both had small cameo roles, Sethupathi and Nayanthara reportedly spent hours discussing their upcoming solo projects — she gave him notes on his script for Vikram Vedha, and he pushed her to take the lead in the Telugu remake of Queen.
- Nayanthara once said in a 2022 interview: 'Vijay Sethupathi is the only co-star who makes me forget my lines because I'm too busy watching him act. We have a rhythm where I know exactly when he'll pause, and he knows when I'll break character.'
- Jawan (2023) marked the first time both played antagonists in the same film — Nayanthara was the hero's love interest, Sethupathi the villain — and their single confrontation scene became the most-shared clip from the movie on social media, spawning a thousand memes about 'the ultimate power couple turning against each other.'
5 films across 2 decades
The 2010s brought 3 films together, anchored by Imaikkaa Nodigal (7.4/10).
The 2020s brought 2 films together, anchored by Jawan (7.6/10).
- Imaikkaa Nodigal
- Naanum Rowdydhaan
- Jawan
- Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
5 films across 8 years represents consistent collaboration.
Language Distribution
Linguistic diversity: 3 languages, with Tamil being their primary medium.
Where each was in their career
When they first worked together, Vijay Sethupathi had 23 films behind them; Nayantara had 55.
Before Naanum Rowdydhaan, Vijay Sethupathi had starred in 23 films, including Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu (2009) and Pudhupettai (2006).
After Jawan, Vijay Sethupathi went on to appear in 9 more films, including Maharaja (2024) and Kiss (2025).
Before Naanum Rowdydhaan, Nayantara had starred in 55 films, including Sri Rama Rajyam (2011) and Sri Rama Rajyam (2011).
After Jawan, Nayantara went on to appear in 3 more films, including Patriot (2026) and Mana ShankaraVaraPrasad Garu (2026).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Vijay Sethupathi & Nayantara's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
Anirudh Ravichander is the through-line — music on 3 of their 5 films. Anirudh Ravichander scored 3 of them.
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