Actor · Telugu cinema
Kovai Sarala
Kovai Sarala movies: 59 Telugu films on file, 1994–2026. Earliest on file: Police Brothers (1994). Latest release: Seetha Payanam (14 February 2026).
- Films on file
- 59 (59 as actor)
- Years on file
- 1994–2026
- Born
- 7 April 1962 · April birthdays (Wikidata)
- Selected films on file
- Desamuduru, Badrinadh, Temper
- Record
- Q6434821 on Wikidata
Kovai Sarala is an Indian actress, comedian and singer who plays supporting roles in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films; Wikipedia counts more than 300 films. In Telugu she is known for comic roles alongside Brahmanandam, and she won the Nandi Award for Best Female Comedian twice, for Rayalaseema Ramanna Chowdary (2000) and Ori Nee Prema Bangaram Kaanu (2003). Our records list nearly 60 Telugu films for her, from Bhairava Dweepam (1994) to Champion (2025).
Wikipedia says she was born in Coimbatore into a Malayali family but gives no birth date; Wikidata lists 7 April 1962, citing a Czech film database. She became interested in acting after watching M. G. Ramachandran’s films and entered the industry with the support of her sister and father.
Career
She got her first film offer while in class 9, acting in the Tamil film Velli Ratham (1979), and then in the Malayalam film Thaliritta Kinakkal (1980). After some years in theatre, she played a 32-year-old woman in Mundhanai Mudichu and, two years later, the 65-year-old mother of K. Bhagyaraj’s character in Chinna Veedu. She won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Comedian for Sathi Leelavathi (1995), Poovellam Un Vaasam (2001) and Uliyin Osai (2008), and the Vijay and IIFA awards for Kanchana (2011).
Her Telugu films include Police Brothers (1994), Akkada Ammayi Ikkada Abbayi (1996), Pelli and Mama Bagunnava (1997), Nuvve Kavali (2000), Hanuman Junction and Mrugaraju (2001), Ela Cheppanu (2003), Desamuduru and Seema Sastri (2007), Neninthe (2008), Badrinadh (2011), Devudu Chesina Manushulu, Sudigadu and Rebel (2012), Masala and Greeku Veerudu (2013), and Temper and Kick 2 (2015). Our records also list her in Seetha Payanam (2026).
She has sung in films, including “Marugo Marugo” in Sathi Leelavathi, hosted the reality show Paasa Paravaigal and judged comedy shows on Tamil television. She is a member of Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam party.
Awards
- Nandi Award for Best Female Comedian for Rayalaseema Ramanna Chowdary and Ori Nee Prema Bangaram Kaanu (Wikipedia winners list).
- Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Comedian, three times, and the Vijay and IIFA awards for Kanchana, per Wikipedia.
Where to watch her films
- Seetha Payanam: Prime Video, per TMDB/JustWatch provider data (OTT details)
- Champion: Netflix, from 23 January 2026, per TMDB/JustWatch provider data (OTT details)
- Kick 2: digital rights with Sun NXT, per Wikipedia (OTT details)
- Mrugaraju and Bumper Offer: Aha, per the platform listing
Catalogues change; check the platform before you plan to watch.
Sources: Wikipedia, Wikidata, and Tollywood Desk’s film and OTT records.
Career on file
Kovai Sarala appears in 59 Telugu films on file at Tollywood Desk, dated from 1994 to 2026. The earliest of them is Police Brothers (1994), and the most recent release is Seetha Payanam (2026). The most widely covered of these, counted by Wikipedia language editions, are Desamuduru (2007), Badrinadh (2011) and Temper (2015). Other recent releases on file are Champion (2025), Kick 2 (2015) and Masala (2013).
Brahmanandam is the most frequent co-star, sharing 31 films with Kovai Sarala, followed by Kota Srinivasa Rao (14) and Rajendra Prasad (10). Among directors, Puri Jagannadh cast Kovai Sarala most often, in four films; next are Nidhi Prasad (3) and E. V. V. Satyanarayana (3). Music on eight of them is by Mani Sharma, with Chakri (6) and Koti (6) next. Across these films the credits on file name 45 different directors, 31 music directors and 150 other credited actors.
Runtime is on file for 40 of them; they average 147 minutes, and the longest is Rebel at 176 minutes. 11 of them have a streaming (OTT) release noted on the site. By decade the list splits into 1990s (7), 2000s (38), 2010s (12) and 2020s (2).
Figures come from the films on file at Tollywood Desk and change as records are added.