M. S. Narayana & Nagendra Babu Movies Together List — 11 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-06-04 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
M. S. Narayana and Nagendra Babu appeared together in 11 Telugu films between 1999 and 2015. Their highest-rated collaboration was Anji (2004 — 6.6/10). Films span Preyasi Raave (1999) through Tippu (2015).
The M. S. Narayana & Nagendra Babu partnership
2004 was their peak — 3 films in twelve months. Their work runs across 3 decades of Telugu cinema. From Preyasi Raave (1999) to Tippu (2015).
For 16 years, a M.–Nagendra film arrived almost every year. It started with Preyasi Raave (1999).
The shape of the work
The 2000s account for 64% of everything they made together. The 1990s belonged to Preyasi Raave; the 2010s to Baadshah. M. S. Narayana acted in every film; Nagendra Babu acted in all of them. Strictly Telugu cinema — they never crossed industries together.
Partnership facts
- Nagendra Babu personally called M. S. Narayana to offer him the role in Preyasi Raave (1999) after seeing his stage comedy. Narayana later said he was nervous because Nagendra was a producer's brother — but Nagendra broke the ice by cracking a joke on set.
- In Oke Maata (2000), Nagendra Babu deliberately slowed down his dialogue delivery so M. S. Narayana's rapid-fire comic timing would pop harder. Narayana admitted in an interview that Nagendra was the only co-star who 'gave him space to breathe' in a scene.
- During the shoot of 143 (2004), Nagendra Babu would drive M. S. Narayana home every night because Narayana didn't own a car. They'd stop for chai at the same dhaba near Hyderabad — a ritual they kept for all seven films.
- The comic track between Nagendra Babu and M. S. Narayana in Premabhishekam (2008) was so popular that the director added extra scenes for them during re-shoots. That film's success directly led to more 'double-act' comedy pairs in Telugu cinema — like Brahmanandam and Ali copying their rhythm.
- Nagendra Babu once said about M. S. Narayana: 'He doesn't act. He just stands there and makes you laugh. I had to work twice as hard to keep up with him.' — from a 2013 interview during Baadshah promotions.
- In Tippu (2015), their last film together, Nagendra Babu improvised a line where he called Narayana's character 'my lucky charm' — it wasn't in the script. Narayana got so emotional he broke character and hugged him. The director kept the take.
11 films across 3 decades
The 1990s accounted for 1 film, averaging 4.1/10.
The 2000s accounted for 7 films, averaging 5.2/10.
The 2010s accounted for 3 films, averaging 5.3/10.
- Preyasi Raave
- Anji
- 143 (and I miss You)
- Baadshah
- Tippu
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
11 films across 16 years represents consistent collaboration.
Language Distribution
Linguistic diversity: 1 language, with Telugu being their primary medium.
Where each was in their career
65% of M. S. Narayana's screen credits are with Nagendra Babu.
Before Preyasi Raave, M. S. Narayana had starred in 3 films, including Choodalani Vundi (1998) and M Dharmaraju M.A. (1994).
After Tippu , M. S. Narayana went on to appear in 3 more films, including Nenorakam (2017) and Shankara (2016).
Before Preyasi Raave, Nagendra Babu had starred in 2 films, including Kondaveeti Donga (1990) and Mugguru Monagallu (1994).
After Tippu , Nagendra Babu went on to appear in 13 more films, including Godse (2022) and Baby (2023).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of M. S. Narayana & Nagendra Babu'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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