M. S. Narayana & Kondavalasa Lakshmana Rao Movies Together List — 8 Films

The shape of the work

The 2000s account for 63% of everything they made together. The 2000s belonged to Kushi Kushiga; the 2010s to Naa Rakumarudu. M. S. Narayana acted in every film; Kondavalasa Lakshmana Rao acted in all of them. Strictly Telugu cinema — they never crossed industries together.

Partnership facts

• They first shared screen space in Kabaddi Kabaddi (2003), but the director E. V. V. Satyanarayana didn't originally plan them as a pair. Narayana was cast first; he personally recommended Kondavalasa for the second lead after seeing him in a stage play.
• In Kushi Kushiga (2004), Narayana played the straight man while Kondavalasa did all the physical comedy. Narayana later said in an interview that Kondavalasa's timing was so sharp he had to pause his own lines to let the audience stop laughing.
• Their double-act in Anandamanandamaye (2004) directly inspired the comedy track in the 2006 hit 'Evadaithe Nakenti' — the writer admitted in a DVD extra that he rewatched their scenes to study how two comedians could share a single punchline.
• On the sets of Chandee (2013), the two shared a room during the outdoor shoot in Araku Valley. Kondavalasa would wake up at 4 AM to practice his lines aloud, and Narayana would join him with tea — they rehearsed every scene together before the director called action.
• Kondavalasa once told a fan magazine: 'Narayana is the only co-actor who can make me forget my lines because I'm laughing at him. We never competed — we just fed each other the scene.'