Vennela Kishore & Sai Dharam Tej Movies Together List — 3 Films

The shape of the work

The 2010s belonged to Chitralahari; the 2020s to Bro. Vennela Kishore acted in every film; Sai Dharam Tej acted in all of them. Strictly Telugu cinema — they never crossed industries together.

Partnership facts

• In Chitralahari (2019), Sai Dharam Tej played a frustrated job-seeker, and Vennela Kishore played his loud, overconfident friend. Kishore’s manic energy pushed Tej to play the straight man harder — the comedy worked because one kept exploding while the other kept deflating.
• Vennela Kishore is 14 years older than Sai Dharam Tej, but on the sets of Winner (2017), they bonded over a shared love for old Telugu comedy films. Kishore later said Tej would call him 'anna' (elder brother) even after the shoot wrapped.
• After Chitralahari became a hit, Sai Dharam Tej told a press meet: 'Vennela Kishore is the reason my character felt real. He doesn't let you act lazy — you have to match his rhythm or you'll look dull.'
• They first met on the sets of Winner (2017) because director Gopichand Malineni specifically wanted Vennela Kishore to improvise around Tej's dialogue delivery. Kishore rewrote his own lines on the spot during the first scene, and Tej had to keep up — that set the tone for all three films.
• The success of Chitralahari (2019) directly led to Vennela Kishore being cast as the comic sidekick in multiple Sai Dharam Tej projects that followed — including Solo Brathuke So Better (2020) — creating a short-lived 'buddy comedy' trend in Telugu cinema where the hero's friend got equal screen time.
• In Bro (2023), Vennela Kishore played a time-traveling assistant while Tej played a lazy god. Kishore’s character had to deliver rapid-fire exposition, and Tej’s job was to react with deadpan confusion. Kishore later admitted in an interview that he deliberately sped up his lines to make Tej's reactions more frantic on camera.