Nani

Ghanta Naveen Babu (born 24 February 1984), known professionally by his screen name Nani, is an Indian actor, producer, and television presenter who is known primarily for his work in Telugu cinema.

He has received two Filmfare Awards and two Nandi Awards.

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.

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.

He accepted the offer and worked there for one year, hosting a program named "Non-Stop Nani".

Director Mohan Krishna Indraganti noticed Nani in an advertisement and offered him a role in the aforementioned film Ashta Chamma, also starring Swati Reddy.

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."

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.

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.

Nani made his debut in 2008 starring in the romantic comedy Ashta Chamma.

He is considered a leading actor of Telugu cinema with critical and commercial successes such as Ride (2009), Bheemili Kabaddi Jattu (2010), Ala Modalaindi (2011), Pilla Zamindar (2011), Eega (2012), Yeto Vellipoyindhi Manasu (2012), Yevade Subramanyam (2015), Bhale Bhale Magadivoy (2015), Krishna Gaadi Veera Prema Gaadha (2016), Gentleman (2016), Majnu (2016), Nenu Local (2017), Ninnu Kori (2017), Middle Class Abbayi (2017), Jersey (2019), Nani's Gang Leader (2019), Shyam Singha Roy (2021), Dasara (2023), and Hi Nanna (2023).

He won two Filmfare Critics Awards for Best Actor - Telugu for Bhale Bhale Magadivoy and Shyam Singha Roy. His performance in Jersey is regarded as one of the "100 Greatest Performances of the Decade" by Film Companion.

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 said Nani "perfectly fits into the role" and commended him for selecting the script, and Oneindia Entertainment commented that Nani "has given his best" and was "suited perfectly to the role".

The film was a surprise hit at the box office.

His first release in 2011, Ala Modalaindi, was a romantic comedy written and directed by Nandini Reddy.

Nithya Menen was the female lead of the film, making her debut in Telugu.

Nani's performance in the film received positive reviews, with critics noting that he was "completely natural" and "living [his] role".

The film was a blockbuster at the box office.

Simultaneously he did a Tamil film, Veppam, with his friend Anjana as director which marked his debut in Tamil cinema.

Veppam received mixed reviews, but Nani and Bindu Madhavi were appreciated.

The Times of India called their debuts "confident" while Sify called Nani's performance "riveting".

It was dubbed into Telugu as Sega.

Both the versions were flops at the box office.

In 2012, Nani married Anjana, after five years of courtship.

In 2013, Nani produced his first film D for Dopidi which was a profitable venture.

He hosted the 2nd IIFA Utsavam award show in 2017 and the second season of the Telugu reality TV show Bigg Boss in 2018.

Nani was born and brought up in Hyderabad, India.

He 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 College.

His family hails from Challapalli, Andhra Pradesh.

Their son was born in 2017.

He is affectionately referred to as 'Natural Star' by his fans due to his realistic performances in versatile roles.

As an undergraduate, Nani got addicted to movies, citing Mani Ratnam as a major influence.

He 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).