Kota Srinivasa Rao & Posani Krishna Murali Movies Together List — 11 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-06-02 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Kota Srinivasa Rao and Posani Krishna Murali appeared together in 11 Telugu films between 1997 and 2019. Their highest-rated collaboration was Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum (2012 — 7.1/10). Films span Muddula Mogudu (1997) through Maharshi (2019).
The Kota Srinivasa Rao & Posani Krishna Murali partnership
After 10 years apart, they came back together for Julai (2012). They didn't share a set between 2002 and 2012. Their work runs across 3 decades of Telugu cinema.
From Muddula Mogudu (1997) to Maharshi (2019). Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum is the one most viewers reach for.
The shape of the work
The 2010s account for 82% of everything they made together. The 1990s belonged to Muddula Mogudu; the 2010s to Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum. Kota Srinivasa Rao acted in every film; Posani Krishna Murali acted in all of them.
Partnership facts
- Their first film together, Gemini (2002), almost didn't happen. Director Saran originally wanted a different actor for the villain role, but Kota Srinivasa Rao personally recommended Posani Krishna Murali after seeing his stage work. Posani got the part and made his Telugu film debut opposite Kota.
- In Julai (2012), Kota played the calm, calculating villain while Posani played the loud, unhinged sidekick. Posani later said Kota deliberately slowed down his own dialogue delivery in their scenes together, forcing Posani to match his rhythm — which made Posani's outbursts hit harder.
- Posani Krishna Murali has said in multiple interviews that Kota Srinivasa Rao is the only co-star he calls 'anna' (elder brother) off-screen. They share a tradition: before every film they shot together, Kota would call Posani the night before and say, 'Rey, dialogue baaga cheppu' (Hey, deliver the dialogues well).
- The success of their pairing in Gemini (2002) directly led to Posani being cast as the main villain in several films that year. Before Gemini, Posani was mostly a character actor; after it, directors started writing full-length villain roles specifically for him, often asking for 'that Gemini energy'.
- Posani Krishna Murali once said in a 2014 interview: 'Kota garu is the only actor who can make me forget my lines. Not because I'm scared — because I'm watching him perform and I lose myself. That's the kind of actor he is.'
- In Prathinidhi (2014), Kota and Posani played political rivals. The director revealed that Kota insisted on rehearsing their confrontation scene 11 times before the final take — not because Posani was struggling, but because Kota wanted to find the exact moment where Posani's character would snap. That scene became the film's most talked-about sequence.
11 films across 3 decades
The 1990s accounted for 1 film, averaging 5.5/10.
The 2000s accounted for 1 film.
The 2010s brought 9 films together, anchored by Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum (7.1/10).
- Muddula Mogudu
- Gemini0
- Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum
- Maharshi
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
11 films across 22 years represents consistent collaboration.
Language Distribution
Linguistic diversity: 2 languages, with Telugu being their primary medium.
Where each was in their career
When they first worked together, Kota Srinivasa Rao had 36 films behind them; Posani Krishna Murali had 0. After Maharshi, Posani Krishna Murali kept going for 46 more films; Kota Srinivasa Rao stepped back.
Before Muddula Mogudu, Kota Srinivasa Rao had starred in 36 films, including Money Money (1995) and Top Hero (1994).
After Maharshi, Kota Srinivasa Rao went on to appear in 8 more films, including Konda Polam (2021) and Hari Hara Veera Mallu: Part 1 – Sword vs Spirit (2025).
Muddula Mogudu was Posani Krishna Murali's acting debut.
After Maharshi, Posani Krishna Murali went on to appear in 46 more films, including Umapathi (2023) and 18 Pages (2022).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Kota Srinivasa Rao & Posani Krishna Murali's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
Brahmanandam is the through-line — cast on 7 of their 11 films. Brahmanandam appears alongside them in 7 films — practically a third lead.
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Other iconic Telugu director-actor duos
Discover other partnerships with comparable filmographies and ratings
Kota Srinivasa RaoSubbaraju
Samantha AkkineniBrahmanandamTanikella BharaniJagapathi BabuRajendra PrasadDevi Sri Prasad
Posani Krishna MuraliTanikella Bharani
Sayaji Shinde