M. S. Narayana & Annapoorna Movies Together List — 6 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-06-05 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
M. S. Narayana and Annapoorna appeared together in 6 Telugu films between 1994 and 2010. Their highest-rated collaboration was Manasara (2010 — 5.8/10). Films span M Dharmaraju M.A. (1994) through Manasara (2010).
The M. S. Narayana & Annapoorna partnership
After 9 years apart, they came back together for Manasara (2010). They saved their best for last — Manasara (5.8/10) came 16 years in. Their work runs across 3 decades of Telugu cinema.
They didn't share a set between 2001 and 2010. From M Dharmaraju M.A. (1994) to Manasara (2010).
The shape of the work
The 1990s belonged to M Dharmaraju M.A.; the 2010s to Manasara. M. S. Narayana acted in every film; Annapoorna acted in all of them. Strictly Telugu cinema — they never crossed industries together.
Partnership facts
- They first shared screen space in 'M Dharmaraju M.A.' (1994), but neither was the lead. Narayana played a small comic role while Annapoorna played the hero's mother. The director, S. V. Krishna Reddy, paired them as a joke — he thought their age gap (she was 20 years older) would look funny as a romantic couple. It didn't happen in that film, but the joke stuck, and they became a cult odd-couple pair later.
- In 'Preyasi Raave' (1999), Narayana played a lecherous older man chasing Annapoorna's character. The comedy came from her deadpan reactions — she never once smiled or flinched during his over-the-top advances. Narayana later said in an interview that her stillness made him work harder: 'If she had laughed, the scene would have died. Her silence was my cue to go bigger.'
- Their pairing in 'Kouravudu' (2000) was so bizarre — a middle-aged comic chasing a grandmother figure — that it inspired a whole subgenre of 'age-gap comedy' in Telugu cinema. Directly after this film, at least three low-budget comedies copied the formula: an older woman and a younger man as a comic couple. None of them worked, but the trend is traceable back to this one film.
- Annapoorna was a strict vegetarian and refused to eat on sets where meat was cooked. Narayana, a known foodie, would personally bring her home-cooked meals from his wife's kitchen on every shoot they did together. He did this for all six films, even when they weren't shooting the same scenes. She called him 'my lunch boy' on set.
- Narayana once told a fan magazine: 'Annapoorna garu is the only actress who can make me look like a fool without saying a word. I would chase her in scenes, and she would just stare at me like I was a cockroach. That stare was my biggest paycheck.'
6 films across 3 decades
The 1990s accounted for 2 films, averaging 4.4/10.
The 2000s accounted for 3 films, averaging 3.8/10.
The 2010s accounted for 1 film, averaging 5.8/10.
- M Dharmaraju M.A.
- Preyasi Raave
- Chiru Navvuto
- Itlu Sravani Subramanyam
- Manasara
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
6 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
After Manasara, M. S. Narayana kept going for 60 more films; Annapoorna stepped back.
M Dharmaraju M.A. was M. S. Narayana's acting debut.
After Manasara, M. S. Narayana went on to appear in 60 more films, including Venkatadri Express (2013) and Atharintiki Daaredi (2013).
Before M Dharmaraju M.A., Annapoorna had starred in 8 films, including Vaathiyaar Veettu Pillai (1989) and Nirnayam (1991).
After Manasara, Annapoorna went on to appear in 28 more films, including Thank You Brother! (2021) and O Saathiya (2023).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of M. S. Narayana & Annapoorna's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
People who worked on M. S. Narayana & Annapoorna's films together
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