Ajay & Ali Movies Together List — 4 Films

The shape of the work

Ajay acted in every film; Ali acted in all of them. Strictly Telugu cinema — they never crossed industries together.

Partnership facts

• Ajay and Ali first teamed up in Mirapakaya (2011) because the director, Harish Shankar, specifically wanted Ali's comic timing to balance Ravi Teja's high-energy chaos. Ali wasn't the first choice — the role was initially written for another comedian who backed out last minute.
• In Howrah Bridge (2018), Ajay played the straight man to Ali's over-the-top Bengali don. Ali later said in an interview that Ajay's deadpan reactions forced him to dial up his physical comedy — the scene where Ali tries to teach Ajay Bengali slang was entirely improvised on set.
• The success of 90 ML (2019) — despite its 4.9 rating — directly led to a wave of small-town drinking comedies in Telugu cinema. Producers started greenlighting similar buddy-drinking films because this pair proved you didn't need a big star to get a hit.
• On the sets of Katamarayudu (2017), Ajay and Ali had a running bet: whoever flubbed a dialogue first had to buy the entire crew chai. Ali lost every single day — he still jokes that Ajay owes him a lifetime supply of tea.
• Ali once said about Ajay: 'He’s the only co-star who doesn’t laugh at my jokes on set. That silence makes me work harder. He’s my toughest audience.'