Vennela Kishore & Nandamuri Kalyan Ram Movies Together List — 5 Films

The shape of the work

The 2010s account for 80% of everything they made together. The 2010s belonged to Ism; the 2020s to Entha Manchivaadavuraa. Vennela Kishore acted in every film; Nandamuri Kalyan Ram acted in all of them. Strictly Telugu cinema — they never crossed industries together.

Partnership facts

• Kalyan Ram personally called Vennela Kishore after watching his comedy timing in a small role. He told Kishore he wanted a 'proper comic track' in his film, not just a cameo. That call led to their first film together, Ism (2016).
• On the sets of MLA (2017), Kishore would deliberately flub his lines in the first take to make Kalyan Ram laugh. Kalyan Ram then started doing the same back. The director had to lock them in separate rooms before serious scenes.
• Their back-and-forth in Naa Nuvve (2018) — where Kishore plays Kalyan Ram's friend who keeps interrupting his romantic moments — directly inspired the 'annoying best friend' trope in at least three Telugu rom-coms that followed in 2019-2020.
• During the shoot of Entha Manchivaadavuraa (2020), Kishore's father was hospitalized. Kalyan Ram quietly rescheduled the entire schedule around Kishore's hospital visits without telling the producer. Kishore found out only after the film wrapped.
• Vennela Kishore said in a 2021 interview: 'Kalyan Ram is the only hero who lets me take the punchline. Most heroes want the last laugh. He gives it to me, even if it makes him look foolish.'