Naresh & Vennela Kishore Movies Together List — 9 Films
Complete Movies List & Collaboration History
Last updated: 2026-07-19 · Data sources: Wikipedia, TMDB
Naresh and Vennela Kishore appeared together in 9 Telugu films between 2016 and 2022. Their highest-rated collaboration was Manamantha (2016 — 8.1/10). Films span Manamantha (2016) through Swathi Muthyam (2022).
The Naresh & Vennela Kishore partnership
Between 2016 and 2022, they barely worked apart — 9 films in 6 years. 2019 was their peak — 4 films in twelve months. For 6 years, a Naresh–Vennela film arrived almost every year.
From Manamantha (2016) to Swathi Muthyam (2022). Entha Manchivaadavuraa (2020, 7.5/10) is the underseen one in the catalogue.
The shape of the work
The 2010s belonged to Manamantha; the 2020s to Entha Manchivaadavuraa. Naresh acted in every film; Vennela Kishore acted in all of them. Strictly Telugu cinema — they never crossed industries together.
Partnership facts
- They first shared screen space in 'Manamantha' (2016), but Vennela Kishore almost didn't get the role. Naresh personally recommended him to the director after they worked together in a stage play years earlier.
- In 'Bheeshma' (2020), Naresh played the straight-laced boss while Vennela Kishore was the chaotic sidekick. Naresh would deliberately pause his lines mid-sentence to let Kishore jump in with an ad-lib — a rhythm they perfected over five films together.
- Their double-act in 'Jodi' (2019) was so popular that the director wrote a spin-off web series centered on their characters — but it never got made because both actors' schedules clashed.
- On the sets of 'Sarileru Neekevvaru' (2020), Naresh and Vennela Kishore shared a vanity van — not because of budget cuts, but because they spent every break playing carrom and arguing over Telugu film trivia.
- Vennela Kishore once said in an interview: 'Naresh garu is the only co-star who can make me laugh so hard I forget my lines. We ruined at least three takes in Maharshi because of that.'
9 films across 2 decades
The 2010s brought 5 films together, anchored by Manamantha (8.1/10).
The 2020s brought 4 films together, anchored by Entha Manchivaadavuraa (7.5/10).
- Manamantha
- Maharshi
- Entha Manchivaadavuraa
- Swathi Muthyam
The partnership in numbers
Partnership Pattern
9 films across 6 years represents consistent collaboration.
Language Distribution
Linguistic diversity: 1 language, with Telugu being their primary medium.
Where each was in their career
By the time of Manamantha, both already had careers — Naresh with 29 films, Vennela Kishore with 27.
Before Manamantha, Naresh had starred in 29 films, including Drushyam (2014) and Malini 22 Vijayawada (2013).
After Swathi Muthyam, Naresh went on to appear in 12 more films, including Martin Luther King (2023) and Samajavaragamana (2023).
Before Manamantha, Vennela Kishore had starred in 27 films, including Dookudu (2011) and S/O Satyamurthy (2015).
After Swathi Muthyam, Vennela Kishore went on to appear in 6 more films, including Hanuman (2024) and Kushi (2023).
Collaboration Journey
A chronological view of Naresh & Vennela Kishore's professional partnership
Actors and musicians who worked on most of their films
Prakash Raj appears alongside them in 4 films — practically a third lead. They worked with the same 6 people again and again — a small repertory company.
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