Nani (actor)
Ghanta Naveen Babu (born 24 February 1984), known professionally by his screen name Nani, is an Indian actor, producer, and television presenter who predominantly works in Telugu cinema. Nani is a recipient of several awards including two Filmfare Awards South, two Nandi Awards and three South Indian International Movie Awards.[2]
Nani
Natural Star
- Actor
- producer
- television presenter
2008–present
1
Nani made his debut in 2008 starring in the romantic comedy Ashta Chamma, a box office success. He went onto establish himself as a leading Telugu actor with the films — Ride (2009), Bheemili Kabaddi Jattu (2010), Ala Modalaindi (2011), Pilla Zamindar (2011), Eega (2012), Yeto Vellipoyindhi Manasu (2012) and Yevade Subramanyam (2015). For Yeto Vellipoyindhi Manasu, he won the Nandi Award for Best Actor. He also made his Tamil debut with Veppam (2011). Nani received further critical and commercial success with Bhale Bhale Magadivoy (2015), Krishna Gaadi Veera Prema Gaadha (2016), Gentleman (2016) (which earned him Nandi Special Jury Award ), Majnu (2016), Nenu Local (2017), Ninnu Kori (2017), Middle Class Abbayi (2017), Jersey (2019), Nani's Gang Leader (2019), Shyam Singha Roy (2021), Ante Sundaraniki (2022), Dasara (2023), and Hi Nanna (2023). Nani won two Filmfare Critics Awards for Best Actor - Telugu for Bhale Bhale Magadivoy and Shyam Singha Roy.[3]
Nani produced his first film D for Dopidi (2013), which was a profitable venture.[4] Nani launched his own production house Wall Poster Cinema in 2018, which has notably backed Awe (2018), HIT: The First Case (2020), and HIT: The Second Case (2022).[5] In 2018, Nani featured as the host of the second season of the Telugu game show Bigg Boss.[6]
Early life and family[edit]
Nani was born on 24 February 1984 in a Hindu-Telugu family and was brought up in Hyderabad.[7] His family hails from Challapalli, Andhra Pradesh. Nani did his schooling from St. Alphonsa's High School and then did his intermediate from Narayana Junior College, S. R. Nagar before graduating from Wesley Degree College, Secunderabad.[8]
After five years of courtship, Nani married costume designer Anjana Yelavarthy on 27 October 2012.[9][10] Their son Arjun, was born in 2017.[11]
Career[edit]
Career beginnings and struggle (2008–2010)[edit]
As an undergraduate, Nani got addicted to movies, citing Mani Ratnam as a major influence.[7] He wanted to become a director; however, producer Anil Kumar Koneru allowed him to work on his production, Radha Gopalam (2005), as a "clap director", alongside director Bapu.[7] He then worked for films including Allari Bullodu (2005), Astram (2006), and Dhee (2007). Nani took a sabbatical to work on a film script. Bhargavi Mallela, a friend of his, who was then working as a RJ for World Space Satellite, offered Nani work as an RJ.[7] He accepted the offer and worked there for one year, hosting a program named "Non-Stop Nani".[12][13]
Director Mohan Krishna Indraganti noticed Nani in an advertisement and offered him a role in the aforementioned film Ashta Chamma, also starring Swati Reddy.[7] Ashta Chamma was well received by critics and Nani's performance was praised by them. Sify.com wrote "Nani has a very good screen presence. He has good emotions and dances well, though his body language sometimes reminds of Subhalekha Sudhakar – May this be treated as a compliment to the ease that the veteran actor shows on the screen! His addiction is good too."[14][15] His second film, Ride, was produced by Bellamkonda Suresh, with Tanish, Swetha Basu Prasad and Aksha Pardasany playing important roles. Ride was also a notable success at the box office.[16] He next starred in Satyam Bellamkonda's film Snehituda... opposite Maadhavi Latha. Snehituda... opened to negative reviews and the film was a flop at the box office.[17] In 2010, he played the main role in the film Bheemili Kabaddi Jattu, a remake of Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu, with Saranya Mohan reprising her role as the heroine. The film opened to positive reviews with Nani's performance receiving appreciation. Rediff.com said Nani "perfectly fits into the role" and commended him for selecting the script,[18] and One India commented that Nani "has given his best" and was "suited perfectly to the role".[19] The film was a surprise hit at the box office.[20]
Breakthrough and commercial fluctuations (2011–2014)[edit]
His first release in 2011, Ala Modalaindi, was a romantic comedy written and directed by Nandini Reddy, where he was cast opposite Nithya Menen. Nani's performance in the film received positive reviews, with critics noting that he was "completely natural" and "living [his] role".[21][22] The film was a blockbuster at the box office.[23] Simultaneously he did a Tamil film, Veppam, which marked his debut in Tamil cinema. Veppam received mixed reviews, but Nani was appreciated, The Times of India critic called his debut "confident", while Sify called his performance "riveting".[24][25] It was dubbed into Telugu as Sega. Both the versions were box-office failures.[26] Nani's final release of the year was Pilla Zamindar, which opened to mostly positive reviews from critics, and Nani's performance as a spoilt-brat-turned-leader was well appreciated. Radhika Rajamani stated "It is Nani's show all the way. He lives up to the role and is able to portray the kaleidoscope of emotions demanded of him."[27] IndiaGlitz wrote, "Performance-wise, Nani delivers a matured output in the second half as a youth in self-introspecting and self-correcting mode."[28] The film was a hit at the box office, prompting a Tamil dubbed release under the title Jameen.
Other ventures[edit]
Production[edit]
Nani turned producer for the film, D for Dopidi, in 2013. It was co-produced by director duo, Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K.. It starred Sundeep Kishan, Varun Sandesh, and Naveen Polishetty. He also lent his voice to the film.[109] The film was a moderate success at the box office.[110] He launched his film production house, Wall Poster Cinema, along with costume designer, Prashanti Tipirneni, as a partner. The first film in the banner was Awe or "అ!" (2018). It was one of the most critically acclaimed films of the year and won 2 awards, at the 66th National Film Awards, for Best Special Effects and Best Make-Up Artist.[111][112]
In 2020, Nani produced the crime thriller, HIT: The First Case, with Vishwak Sen and Ruhani Sharma. It was one of the bigger sleeper hits of the year, right before the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, worldwide, in March 2020.[113] He has since produced its sequel, HIT: The Second Case (2022), with Adivi Sesh and Meenakshi Chaudhary,[114] and the web series Meet Cute (2022), which stars an ensemble cast.[115]
Television[edit]
Nani hosted the 2nd IIFA Utsavam, in 2017 which was held in Hyderabad. He hosted the event along with Rana Daggubati.[116][117] In 2018, Nani hosted the second season of Bigg Boss Telugu, the Telugu version of Indian reality show Bigg Boss.[118][119] He has appeared as a guest in the second and fourth season of Meelo Evaru Koteeswarudu.[120][121]
Voice artist[edit]
Nani has also worked as a voice artist. In 2015, he dubbed for Dulquer Salmaan's role in the Telugu version of O Kadhal Kanmani, titled OK Bangaram.[122][123] In 2018, he voiced for a fish in his production, Awe.[124] In the 2019 film Jersey, Nani dubbed for Harish Kalyan.[125] In the Telugu version of The Lion King, released in 2019, Nani dubbed for Simba.[126]