Kovai Sarala & Kota Srinivasa Rao Movies Together List — 7 Films

The shape of the work

The 2000s belonged to Hero; the 2010s to Temper . Kovai Sarala acted in every film; Kota Srinivasa Rao acted in all of them.

Partnership facts

• Kovai Sarala and Kota Srinivasa Rao first shared screen space in Sandade Sandadi (2002), but their real partnership kicked off when director Sriram Adittya cast them as mother and son in Malini 22 Vijayawada (2013). Sarala later said Adittya specifically wanted her to play Kota's mother because she could match his deadpan timing.
• In Temper (2015), Kota Srinivasa Rao played the villain's father while Kovai Sarala played the hero's mother. They never shared a single scene together in that film — their only connection was through the script's parallel family arcs. Fans still joke they were the 'invisible pair' of that movie.
• The success of Malini 22 Vijayawada (2013) — a hit that grossed over ₹10 crore — directly led to the Tamil remake Malini 22 Palayamkottai (2014). Both Sarala and Kota reprised their roles in the remake, making them the only actors to play the same mother-son duo in both Telugu and Tamil versions of the same story.
• On the sets of Ghatana (2016), Kovai Sarala and Kota Srinivasa Rao had a running bet: whoever flubbed a dialogue first had to buy the other a box of kaju katli. Sarala lost the bet on day one. Kota still teases her about it.
• Kovai Sarala once said in an interview: 'Kota garu can make you laugh with just a raised eyebrow. I had to work twice as hard to keep up with him in Malini 22 Vijayawada. He never breaks character, not even between takes.'