Actor · Telugu cinema
Nadhiya
Nadhiya movies: 20 Telugu films on file, 1988–2022. Earliest on file: Bazaar Rowdy (1988). Latest release: The Warrior (14 July 2022).
- Films on file
- 20 (20 as actor)
- Years on file
- 1988–2022
- Born
- 2 November 1968 · November birthdays (Wikidata)
- Selected films on file
- A Aa - Anasuya Ramalingam Vs Anand Vihari, Naa Peru Surya, Attarintiki Daredi
- Record
- Q3530988 on Wikidata
Nadhiya (born Zareena Moidu), credited as Nadhiya Moidu in Malayalam, is an Indian actress who works in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films. Her debut in Nokketha Doorathu Kannum Nattu (1984) won her the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Malayalam, and after a long break she returned in 2004. In Telugu, she won acclaim in 2013 for playing Prabhas‘s mother in Mirchi and the stubborn aunt in Attarintiki Daredi, which won her the Nandi Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Early life
Nadhiya spent her childhood in Sion, Mumbai. She attended The J.B. Vachha High School for Parsi Girls and took her pre-university course at Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy School of Art, leaving further studies as films took over. Later, living in the United States, she earned an associate degree in media management and a BA in communication arts.
Debut and stardom
Her first film was the Malayalam Nokketha Doorathu Kannum Nattu, alongside Mohanlal and Padmini, and its Tamil remake, Poove Poochudava (1985), marked her Tamil debut.
Tamil and Telugu stardom
She became a popular actress in Tamil and Telugu cinema in the 1980s and 1990s, working on her own terms opposite stars such as Rajinikanth, Vijayakanth, Sathyaraj and Prabhu. She has said she was considered for Mouna Ragam but declined because of prior commitments.
Comeback
After a brief return in the mid-1990s she moved abroad, then came back strongly in 2004 with the Tamil film M. Kumaran S/O Mahalakshmi, which drew critical acclaim. Her Telugu roles in Mirchi and Attarintiki Daredi brought her further praise, and she has also appeared on television.
Personal life
Nadhiya married Shirish Godbole in 1988, and they have two daughters, Sanam and Jana. The family lived in the United States and then in London from 2000 to 2007, before returning to India in 2008; they live in Mumbai.
Sources: Wikipedia and Wikidata.
Nadhiya: quick facts
- Real name: Zareena Moidu; credited as Nadhiya Moidu in Malayalam and Nadhiya in Tamil and Telugu (Wikipedia)
- First film: The Malayalam film Nokketha Doorathu Kannum Nattu (1984), which won her the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Malayalam (Filmfare Awards South archive)
- Tamil debut: Poove Poochudava (1985), the Tamil remake of her first film (Wikipedia)
- Nandi Award: Best Supporting Actress for Attarintiki Daredi (2013) (The Indian Express)
- Telugu films: 20 on file, from Bazaar Rowdy (1988) to The Warrior (2022)
Career on file
Nadhiya appears in 20 Telugu films on file at Tollywood Desk, dated from 1988 to 2022. The earliest of them is Bazaar Rowdy (1988), and the most recent release is The Warrior (2022). The most widely covered of these, counted by Wikipedia language editions, are A Aa - Anasuya Ramalingam Vs Anand Vihari (2016), Naa Peru Surya (2018) and Attarintiki Daredi (2013). Other recent releases on file are Ante Sundaraniki (2022), Sarkaru Vaari Paata (2022) and Ghani (2022).
Brahmanandam is the most frequent co-star, sharing six films with Nadhiya, followed by Venkatesh Daggubati (3) and Kota Srinivasa Rao (3). Among directors, Trivikram Srinivas cast Nadhiya most often, in two films. Music on five of them is by S. Thaman, with Devi Sri Prasad (4) and Anup Rubens (2) next. Across these films the credits on file name 19 different directors, 13 music directors and 72 other credited actors.
Runtime is on file for 17 of them; they average 157 minutes, and the longest is Lakshmi Narasimha at 185 minutes. Ten of them have a streaming (OTT) release noted on the site. By decade the list splits into 1980s (1), 2000s (5), 2010s (7) and 2020s (7). 2022 is the busiest single year, with four films.
Figures come from the films on file at Tollywood Desk and change as records are added.