Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana

Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana (meaning “If you wish to come, would I refuse?”) is a 2005 Telugu romantic comedy that marked dancer-choreographer Prabhu Deva’s debut as a director. It was produced by M. S. Raju under Sumanth Art Productions and stars Siddharth, Trisha and Srihari, with music by Devi Sri Prasad. Released on 14 January 2005, it was one of the biggest Telugu hits of the year, won nine Filmfare Awards South, a record for a South Indian film, and five Nandi Awards, and was remade in nine other languages, the most for any Indian film.

What the story is about

Siri is a village girl raised by her elder brother, Sivaramakrishna, who has worked the family’s small plot of land since he was a boy, after their wealthy father abandoned them and their mother died. When Siri visits her best friend’s home for a wedding, she meets Santosh, the friend’s carefree, London-raised cousin from a millionaire family. He teases her, she is annoyed, and then they fall in love. Santosh’s mother refuses to accept a poor girl, and Sivaramakrishna has every reason to distrust rich families. So Santosh accepts a challenge: to live in the village and grow more grain on the farm than Sivaramakrishna by the end of the season, or leave Siri forever. The rest is a city boy learning to farm while rivals try to sabotage him.

Cast

• Siddharth as Santosh
• Trisha as Siri
• Srihari as Sivaramakrishna, Siri’s brother
• Prakash Raj and Geetha as Santosh’s parents
• Tanikella Bharani, Jaya Prakash Reddy, Sunil, Chandra Mohan and Dharmavarapu Subramanyam in supporting roles

How it was made

The story was written by Veeru Potla and the screenplay by producer M. S. Raju, with dialogue by the Paruchuri brothers; Venu was the cinematographer. Raju brought in Prabhu Deva, who had choreographed the song “Nuvvostanante” for his production Varsham, even though Prabhu Deva was hesitant to direct, and the film took its title from that song. Siddharth was cast after Raju liked him in Boys (2003). Critics have compared the story with Maine Pyar Kiya (1989) and the Telugu Ramudochadu (1996).

Music

Devi Sri Prasad composed eight songs, all with lyrics by Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry, including a remix of Ghantasala’s “Prema Kosamai Valalo” from Pathala Bhairavi (1951), sung by Jr. Ghantasala. “Ghal Ghal”, “Chandrullo Unde” and “Paripoke Pitta” became especially popular.

Release and box office

The film opened with 90 prints on 14 January 2005, and more prints were added to meet demand. According to Wikipedia, it ran for 50 days in 79 centres and 100 days in 35 centres. No gross figure is given in the cited sources. After its success Siddharth shifted his focus to Telugu films. It was re-released in theatres in 2025.

What critics said

Sify (3 out of 5) called it “a real treat and a joy to watch on screen”, writing that although the characters are “built on obvious cliches”, the cast brings them to life. Idlebrain.com (4 out of 5) praised Raju’s “gripping” screenplay and Prabhu Deva’s direction.

Remakes

Its nine remakes include the Kannada Neenello Naanalle (2006), the Tamil Unakkum Enakkum (2006), Bengali, Manipuri, Odia, Punjabi, Bangladeshi and Nepali versions, and the Hindi Ramaiya Vastavaiya (2013), directed by Prabhu Deva himself.

Where to watch Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana

We do not have a confirmed streaming platform for the film on file. The OTT details on this page will be updated when a platform’s own listing confirms it.

Sources: the Wikipedia article on Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana and the reviews it cites; Wikidata; our own cast and crew records.