M. S. Narayana & S.V. Krishna Reddy Movies Together List — 6 Films

The shape of the work

The 2000s account for 83% of everything they made together. The 1990s belonged to Premaku Velayara; the 2000s to Hungama. M. S. Narayana acted in every film; S.V. Krishna Reddy directed all of them. Strictly Telugu cinema — they never crossed industries together.

Partnership facts

• S.V. Krishna Reddy cast M.S. Narayana in 'Premaku Velayara' (1999) after seeing him in a small stage skit. Narayana was a theater regular with zero film experience at that point. Reddy took a risk — and that film became Narayana's launchpad into Telugu cinema.
• On the sets of 'Hungama' (2005), Narayana would rewrite his own lines on the spot. Krishna Reddy let him do it. The director would just adjust the blocking around Narayana's improvisations. That film is their highest-rated collaboration.
• After 'Sarada Saradaga' (2006), the two had a falling out over a credit dispute. Narayana felt Reddy didn't promote his role enough in the film's posters. They didn't speak for nearly three years after that.
• The success of 'Kodanda Ramudu' (2000) directly led to Krishna Reddy casting Narayana in a string of supporting roles in his later films. That film's comic track — written specifically for Narayana — became a template for how the director wrote comedy in his next five movies.
• M.S. Narayana once said in an interview: 'Krishna Reddy garu gave me my first break. But after Hungama, he started treating me like a prop. I had to walk away.' He said this in 2008, two years after their last film together.