S. J. Surya & Mahesh Babu Movies Together List — 3 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-06-05 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
S. J. Surya and Mahesh Babu appeared together in 3 Telugu films between 2004 and 2017. Their highest-rated collaboration was Naani (2004 — 7.5/10). Films span Naani (2004) through Spyder Tamil (2017).
The S. J. Surya & Mahesh Babu partnership
After 13 years apart, they came back together for Spyder (2017). They didn't share a set between 2004 and 2017. From Naani (2004) to Spyder Tamil (2017).
Naani is the one most viewers reach for. It started with Naani (2004).
Partnership facts
- Mahesh Babu personally requested S. J. Suryah to direct him in Naani (2004) after being impressed by Suryah's work in Tamil. Suryah was initially hesitant because he didn't know Telugu well.
- On the sets of Naani, S. J. Suryah would act out every scene himself — including the female roles — and Mahesh Babu would then mirror his exact body language. That's how they built the film's quirky tone.
- After Naani flopped at the box office, S. J. Suryah felt responsible and stopped taking Mahesh Babu's calls for months. Mahesh eventually showed up at his house unannounced and told him, 'We'll work again when the time is right.' They did — 13 years later with Spyder.
- S. J. Suryah once said in an interview: 'Mahesh is the only hero who trusted me completely even after a failure. He never asked me to change a single scene in Spyder.'
- The failure of Spyder (2017) — their second collaboration — directly led to both of them taking a long break from each other's careers. No Telugu producer has paired them since, making this a closed chapter in Telugu cinema.
3 films across 2 decades
The 2000s brought 1 film together, anchored by Naani (7.5/10).
The 2010s accounted for 2 films, averaging 5.0/10.
- Naani
- Spyder
- Spyder Tamil
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
3 films across 13 years represents consistent collaboration.
Language Distribution
Linguistic diversity: 2 languages, with Telugu being their primary medium.
Where each was in their career
Before Naani, S. J. Surya had starred in 5 films, including Khushi (2001) and Kushi (2000).
After Spyder Tamil, S. J. Surya went on to appear in 16 more films, including Jigarthanda Double X (2023) and Jigarthanda Double X (2023).
Before Naani, Mahesh Babu had starred in 8 films, including Nijam (2003) and Murari (2001).
After Spyder Tamil, Mahesh Babu went on to appear in 6 more films, including Bharath Ane Nenu (2018) and Maharshi (2019).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of S. J. Surya & Mahesh Babu's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
Rakul Preet Singh is the through-line — cast on 2 of their 3 films.
