Akkineni Nagarjuna & Ali Movies Together List — 5 Films

The shape of the work

The 2000s account for 60% of everything they made together. The 2000s belonged to Nenunnanu; the 2010s to Shirdi Sai. Akkineni Nagarjuna acted in every film; Ali acted in all of them. Strictly Telugu cinema — they never crossed industries together.

Partnership facts

• Ali wasn't the first choice for the comic sidekick in Nuvvu Vastavani (2000). Nagarjuna personally insisted on casting him after seeing Ali's timing in a stage show. That film kicked off their 16-year run together.
• In Nenunnanu (2004), Nagarjuna deliberately slowed down his dialogue delivery in every scene with Ali. He knew Ali's punchlines landed harder when the straight man gave them a beat to breathe. That film became their first critical hit together.
• The success of their pairing in Shirdi Sai (2012) directly led to Ali being cast as the comic relief in multiple devotional films that followed. Producers started asking for 'that Nagarjuna-Ali combo energy' even when Nagarjuna wasn't in the project.
• On the sets of Oopiri (2016), Nagarjuna would call Ali by his real name, Ali Khan, not his screen name. Ali later said it was the only set where he felt like a co-star, not just a comedian. They haven't worked together since.
• Ali once said in an interview: 'Nagarjuna garu never made me feel like I was just there for laughs. He'd ask me, 'Ali, is this joke working?' like my opinion mattered. That's rare in our industry.'