# Nani filmography
The Nani filmography is the body of Telugu-language films in which **[Nani](https://www.edgepedia.org/nani-actor)** (Ghanta Naveen Babu, born 1984) has worked as a lead actor and producer since his debut in *Ashta Chamma* (2008), a career that runs from small romantic comedies through the fantasy revenge hit *[Eega](https://www.edgepedia.org/eega)* to large-scale action dramas such as *Dasara*, *HIT: The Third Case*, and *[The Paradise](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-paradise-film)*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3761004/) • [2](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/telugu/nani-turns-42-the-guy-who-made-tollywood-fall-in-love-and-then-moved-on-10548074/) Counting databases list 29 releases between 2008 and 2026, with an average IMDb rating of 6.89 across 28 rated films.[3](https://www.boxofficeindia24.com/box-office-records/actor/nani)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Debut | *Ashta Chamma* (2008), a Telugu adaptation of Oscar Wilde's *The Importance of Being Earnest*, directed by Mohana Krishna Indraganti[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/telugu/nani-turns-42-the-guy-who-made-tollywood-fall-in-love-and-then-moved-on-10548074/) |
| Output | 29 releases between 2008 and 2026; average IMDb rating 6.89 across 28 rated films[3](https://www.boxofficeindia24.com/box-office-records/actor/nani) |
| Highest-rated films | *Jersey* (2019) at 8.5 and *Hi Nanna* (2023) at 8.3 on IMDb, each on close to 30,000 votes[3](https://www.boxofficeindia24.com/box-office-records/actor/nani) |
| Major awards | Two Nandi Awards, four SIIMA Awards, two Critics Choice Best Actor Male - Tamil, Best Hero at Toronto After Dark Film Festival for *Eega*[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3761004/) |
| Box-office peak | *HIT: The Third Case* (2025) crossed Rs 1.2 billion (Rs 120 crore) and became his biggest opener; *The Paradise* (2026) opened to a reported ₹760 million (₹76 crore) worldwide on day one[4](https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/movies/regional-cinema/story/nani-the-paradise-action-image-family-hero-telugu-cinema-3000213-2026-09-23) • [5](https://www.hollywoodreporterindia.com/features/interviews/exclusive-nani-on-the-paradise-learnings-and-srikanth-odela-his-third-film-is-going-to-be-extraordinary) |
| Producing | First release under his banner was *Awe!* (2018); later productions include *HIT: The First Case* (2020), *Meet Cute* (2022), and *COURT - State vs A Nobody* (2025)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3761004/) • [6](https://www.filmibeat.com/celebs/nani/upcoming-movies.html) |
| Television | Hosted the reality show *Big Boss 2* from June 2018[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3761004/) |
## Path to acting
Nani did not enter films through a star launch. He worked odd jobs on film sets as a clap boy and assistant director, spent a year as a radio jockey hosting a show called "Non-Stop Nani", and was spotted in a commercial by director Mohana Krishna Indraganti, who offered him a role.[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/telugu/nani-turns-42-the-guy-who-made-tollywood-fall-in-love-and-then-moved-on-10548074/) His behind-camera credits include work as a clap director on *Radha Gopalam* (2005) and as an assistant director on *Allari Bullodu* (2005), *Asthram* (2006), and *Dhee* (2007).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3761004/) He has said he never expected *Ashta Chamma* to work or acting to become a long-term career.[7](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movies/news/cinema-has-changed-my-life-but-not-who-i-am-nani/articleshow/134866273.cms)
## Romantic comedies and the "Natural Star" tag
After the debut, films such as *Ala Modalaindi* (2011) and *Pilla Zamindar* (2011) established the natural, relatable screen presence that earned him the "Natural Star" tag.[8](https://boxofficex.in/article/nani-career-movies-salary-biggest-openings-the-paradise) Through the mid-2010s he dominated the Telugu romantic-comedy space: *Bhale Bhale Magadivoy* (2015), in which he played an absent-minded botanist, was his first real blockbuster and won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor, followed by *[Krishna Gaadi Veera Prema Gaadha](https://www.edgepedia.org/krishna-gaadi-veera-prema-gaadha)* (2016), *Gentleman* (2016), *[Majnu](https://www.edgepedia.org/majnu-2016-film)* (2016), *[Nenu Local](https://www.edgepedia.org/nenu-local)* (2017), *Ninnu Kori* (2017), and *Middle Class Abbayi* (2017), most of them commercially successful.[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/telugu/nani-turns-42-the-guy-who-made-tollywood-fall-in-love-and-then-moved-on-10548074/)
## Eega and the awards record
In 2012 two contrasting films arrived. *Eega*, directed by S.S. Rajamouli, cast Nani as a man who is murdered and returns as a housefly to take revenge on his killer; the film was a success and won him the Best Hero Award at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival in 2013.[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/telugu/nani-turns-42-the-guy-who-made-tollywood-fall-in-love-and-then-moved-on-10548074/) • [9](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3761004/awards/) The same year, [Gautham Vasudev Menon](https://www.edgepedia.org/gautham-vasudev-menon)'s *[Yeto Vellipoyindhi Manasu](https://www.edgepedia.org/yeto-vellipoyindhi-manasu)* won him the Nandi Award for Best Actor.[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/telugu/nani-turns-42-the-guy-who-made-tollywood-fall-in-love-and-then-moved-on-10548074/)
His later awards include the [Filmfare Award for Best Actor](https://www.edgepedia.org/filmfare-award-for-best-actor) (Telugu) for *Dasara* in 2024 and the Filmfare Critics Award for *Shyam Singha Roy* in 2022, along with a Critics' Choice Telugu Film Award for *[Jersey](https://www.edgepedia.org/jersey-2019-film)* in 2020.[9](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3761004/awards/)
## Jersey and the critical peak
*Jersey* (2019), in which Nani played Arjun, a former cricketer, is widely considered one of the finest performances of his career and remains his highest-rated film on IMDb at 8.5.[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/telugu/nani-turns-42-the-guy-who-made-tollywood-fall-in-love-and-then-moved-on-10548074/) • [3](https://www.boxofficeindia24.com/box-office-records/actor/nani) *Hi Nanna* (2023), his last romantic film before the move into action, sits second at 8.3.[3](https://www.boxofficeindia24.com/box-office-records/actor/nani) On Rotten Tomatoes, *Hi Nanna* holds 100 percent among critics and *Ante Sundharaniki* (2022) 95 percent, while *Eega* is listed as his highest-rated film overall.[10](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/nani_ghanta)
## Shift to action, 2023 to 2026
**Dasara (2023)** marked the first break from the family-hero image: Nani played Dharani, a coal-belt brawler, in a film that grossed over Rs 1.2 billion (Rs 120 crore) worldwide and showed audiences would accept him in rough-edged roles.[4](https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/movies/regional-cinema/story/nani-the-paradise-action-image-family-hero-telugu-cinema-3000213-2026-09-23) *Hi Nanna*, released the same year, returned briefly to gentler territory, but the balance then tipped toward action: *Saripodhaa Sanivaaram* (2024) cast him as a vigilante, and *HIT: The Third Case* (2025) put him behind a cop's badge investigating serial murders; the latter became his biggest opener and alone crossed Rs 1.2 billion (Rs 120 crore).[4](https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/movies/regional-cinema/story/nani-the-paradise-action-image-family-hero-telugu-cinema-3000213-2026-09-23)
*The Paradise*, released 24 September 2026 and directed by [Srikanth Odela](https://www.edgepedia.org/srikanth-odela), his second collaboration after *Dasara*, went further with Nani as a rebel fighting for his tribe's land in what he called the "rawest and most rustic action" of his career.[4](https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/movies/regional-cinema/story/nani-the-paradise-action-image-family-hero-telugu-cinema-3000213-2026-09-23) • [5](https://www.hollywoodreporterindia.com/features/interviews/exclusive-nani-on-the-paradise-learnings-and-srikanth-odela-his-third-film-is-going-to-be-extraordinary) The film received an 'A' certificate from the CBFC, with visuals of bloodshed and torture censored.[11](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/celebrity/nani/filmography/star-cast/) Despite divided reviews and heavy online criticism, it gave Nani the biggest opening of his career, a reported ₹760 million (₹76 crore) worldwide on day one, and has since crossed ₹1 billion (₹100 crore) net in India and ₹1.5 billion (₹150 crore) worldwide according to Sacnilk.[5](https://www.hollywoodreporterindia.com/features/interviews/exclusive-nani-on-the-paradise-learnings-and-srikanth-odela-his-third-film-is-going-to-be-extraordinary)
## Work as a producer
Nani's production banner released *Awe!* (2018) as its first film.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3761004/) Subsequent producing credits include *HIT: The First Case* (2020), the anthology series *[Meet Cute](https://www.edgepedia.org/meet-cute-2022-tv-series)* (2022), *HIT: The 2nd Case* (2022, in which he also played Arjun Sarkaar), *HIT: The 3rd Case* (2025), and *COURT - State vs A Nobody* (2025).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3761004/) • [6](https://www.filmibeat.com/celebs/nani/upcoming-movies.html) Upcoming projects list him as producer of *HIT: The Fourth Case*, directed by Sailesh Kolanu, and *Chiru Odela Cinema*, directed by Srikanth Odela, and as actor in *Bloody Romeo*, directed by Sujeeth.[6](https://www.filmibeat.com/celebs/nani/upcoming-movies.html) • [5](https://www.hollywoodreporterindia.com/features/interviews/exclusive-nani-on-the-paradise-learnings-and-srikanth-odela-his-third-film-is-going-to-be-extraordinary)
## Reception
The defining feature of the filmography, according to the BOI24 compilation, is the absence of a bottom: very little in it is poorly received, which the site calls rare for a lead of this period, and the 6.89 average is the highest of any Telugu actor working today, exceeded across its whole section only by [S. V. Ranga Rao](https://www.edgepedia.org/s-v-ranga-rao), N. T. Rama Rao, and [Raj Kapoor](https://www.edgepedia.org/raj-kapoor), all from an earlier era.[3](https://www.boxofficeindia24.com/box-office-records/actor/nani) The scale of his films has also changed considerably, from small romantic and family entertainers to one of the biggest Telugu releases of 2026.[8](https://boxofficex.in/article/nani-career-movies-salary-biggest-openings-the-paradise) Nani himself has reflected that cinema made him realize there was something in him that people appreciated, in an industry where the chances of succeeding are extremely rare.[7](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movies/news/cinema-has-changed-my-life-but-not-who-i-am-nani/articleshow/134866273.cms)
## References
1. [Nani - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3761004/)
2. [Nani turns 42: The guy who made Tollywood fall in love, and then moved on - The Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/telugu/nani-turns-42-the-guy-who-made-tollywood-fall-in-love-and-then-moved-on-10548074/)
3. [Nani: Movies List & Filmography - BOI24](https://www.boxofficeindia24.com/box-office-records/actor/nani)
4. [The Paradise's Nani is going action-heavy. But can Natural Star remain family hero? - India Today](https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/movies/regional-cinema/story/nani-the-paradise-action-image-family-hero-telugu-cinema-3000213-2026-09-23)
5. [Exclusive | Nani On 'The Paradise' Learnings And Srikanth Odela - Hollywood Reporter India](https://www.hollywoodreporterindia.com/features/interviews/exclusive-nani-on-the-paradise-learnings-and-srikanth-odela-his-third-film-is-going-to-be-extraordinary)
6. [Nani Upcoming Movies - FilmiBeat](https://www.filmibeat.com/celebs/nani/upcoming-movies.html)
7. [Cinema has changed my life, but not who I am: Nani - The Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movies/news/cinema-has-changed-my-life-but-not-who-i-am-nani/articleshow/134866273.cms)
8. [Nani Career, Movies, Salary & Biggest Openings - BoxOfficeX](https://boxofficex.in/article/nani-career-movies-salary-biggest-openings-the-paradise)
9. [Nani - Awards - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3761004/awards/)
10. [Nani Movies List - Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/nani_ghanta)
11. [Nani Movies List - Bollywood Hungama](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/celebrity/nani/filmography/star-cast/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Film actors and performers › Actor filmographies and performer list articles*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license