Actor and producer · Telugu cinema
Nani
Nani movies: 35 Telugu films on file (34 as actor, 3 as producer), 2008–2026. Earliest on file: Ashta Chamma (2008). Latest release: The Paradise (24 September 2026).
- Films on file
- 35 (34 as actor, 3 as producer)
- Years on file
- 2008–2026
- Born
- 24 February 1984 · February birthdays (Wikidata)
- Selected films on file
- Eega, Shyam Singha Roy, Devadas
- Record
- Q6963590 on Wikidata
Nani (Ghanta Naveen Babu) is an Indian actor and producer who works mainly in Telugu cinema. Audiences call him “Natural Star” for his realistic performances. His honours include two Nandi Awards, three Filmfare Awards South and four SIIMA Awards, and his production house, Wall Poster Cinema, has backed films such as Awe and the HIT series.
He was born on 24 February 1984 and grew up in Hyderabad, according to Wikipedia, citing Idlebrain, and Wikidata. His family comes from Challapalli, Andhra Pradesh. Before acting he worked as an assistant (“clap”) director, starting on Bapu’s Radha Gopalam (2005).
Career
Mohan Krishna Indraganti cast him in Ashta Chamma (2008), which was well received. B. V. Nandini Reddy’s Ala Modalaindi (2011) was a blockbuster and his breakthrough, and Pilla Zamindar (2011) followed. In 2012 he starred in S. S. Rajamouli’s Eega and in Gautham Menon’s Yeto Vellipoyindhi Manasu, which won him the Nandi Award for Best Actor. He also appeared in Krishna Vamsi’s Paisa (2014).
2015 was a turning point. After Janda Pai Kapiraju and Yevade Subramanyam, Maruthi’s Bhale Bhale Magadivoy was a major hit and won him the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor – Telugu. In 2016 he starred in Krishna Gaadi Veera Prema Gaadha, Mohan Krishna Indraganti’s Gentleman (which won a Nandi Special Jury Award), Jo Achyutananda and Majnu. In 2017 Nenu Local, Ninnu Kori and MCA extended his run of successes. Krishnarjuna Yudham (2018) was his first failure after eight consecutive hits, and he co-starred with Nagarjuna in Devadas (2018).
In Gowtham Tinnanuri’s Jersey (2019) he played a former cricketer who returns to the game for his son. Wikipedia describes it as the most important film of his career, and it won him the SIIMA Critics Award. He followed it with Vikram Kumar’s Gang Leader (2019). His 25th film, V (2020), his first villain role, went straight to Prime Video, as did Tuck Jagadish (2021). He played a writer and his reincarnation in Shyam Singha Roy (2021), which won him a second Filmfare Critics award, and then starred in Ante Sundaraniki (2022). Dasara (2023) became his highest-grossing film and won him the Filmfare and SIIMA Best Actor awards. Hi Nanna (2023), Saripodhaa Sanivaaram (2024) and HIT: The Third Case (2025) followed, and The Paradise was released on 24 September 2026.
Awards
- Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu for Dasara (Wikipedia winners list), and Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor – Telugu for Bhale Bhale Magadivoy and Shyam Singha Roy (Filmfare).
- Nandi Award for Best Actor for Yeto Vellipoyindhi Manasu (list) and a Nandi Special Jury Award for Gentleman.
- SIIMA Award for Best Actor – Telugu for Dasara (list), and the SIIMA Critics Award for Jersey.
Upcoming films
No upcoming film is on our records after The Paradise. New films appear on upcoming Telugu movies as they are recorded.
Where to watch his films
- The Paradise: Netflix has announced streaming from 23 October 2026 (OTT details)
- HIT: The Third Case: Netflix, from 29 May 2025 (OTT details)
- Saripodhaa Sanivaaram: Netflix, from 26 September 2024 (OTT details)
- Hi Nanna: Netflix, from January 2024, per Wikipedia (OTT details)
- Ante Sundaraniki: Netflix, from 8 July 2022 (OTT details)
- Shyam Singha Roy: Netflix, from 21 January 2022 (OTT details)
- V and Tuck Jagadish: Prime Video, where both premiered (V, Tuck Jagadish)
- Eega, Paisa and Krishnarjuna Yudham: Aha, from Aha’s listings (Eega, Paisa, Krishnarjuna Yudham)
Catalogues change; check the platform before you plan to watch.
Personal life
He married Anjana Yelavarthy in Visakhapatnam on 27 October 2012, according to Wikipedia, citing News18; they have a son.
Sources: Wikipedia and the references it cites (linked above), Wikidata, and Tollywood Desk’s film, release and OTT records.
Career on file
Nani has 35 Telugu films on file at Tollywood Desk, dated from 2008 to 2026: 34 films as actor and three films as producer. The earliest of them is Ashta Chamma (2008), and the most recent release is The Paradise (2026). The most widely covered of these, counted by Wikipedia language editions, are Eega (2012), Shyam Singha Roy (2021) and Devadas (2018). Other recent releases on file are HIT: The Third Case (2025), Saripodhaa Sanivaaram (2024) and Hi Nanna (2023).
Srinivas Avasarala is the most frequent co-star, sharing four films with Nani, followed by Nassar (3) and Nivetha Thomas (3). Among directors, Mohan Krishna Indraganti cast Nani most often, in three films; next are Shiva Nirvana (2) and Sailesh Kolanu (2). Music on four of them is by Gopi Sundar, with Anirudh Ravichander (3) and Kalyan Malik (3) next. Across these films the credits on file name 30 different directors, 29 music directors and 87 other credited actors.
Runtime is on file for 30 of them; they average 146 minutes, and the longest is Ante Sundaraniki at 176 minutes. 17 of them have a streaming (OTT) release noted on the site. By decade the list splits into 2000s (3), 2010s (23) and 2020s (9).
Figures come from the films on file at Tollywood Desk and change as records are added.