Nani

Some Lesser Known Facts About Nani

• Nani is an Indian actor, film director, TV presenter, and film producer.

• He was born and brought up in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh (now Telangana).

  

• He started developing an interest in films while he was in college. Nani then assisted his uncle named Anil (film producer) as a clap director.

• He adopted his nickname Nani as his screen name before making his debut in the Telugu film industry. ^[8]The Times of India

• Later, he worked in various Telugu films as an assistant director including ‘Allari Bullodu’ (2005), ‘Astram’ (2006), and ‘Dhee’ (2007). In an interview, he talked about working as an assistant director, he said,
  

  I feel that creativity and talent have to be in you in order to become a good director. Working as an assistant director only helps in understanding technical departments. This technical knowledge will help you to transport the content in your mind onto the celluloid. I learnt about clarity of thinking and storyboarding from Bapu. I learnt how to be cool even in tense situations from K Raghavendra Rao. I want to try my hand at acting now and direction can wait.”

• He then started working on a script. While he was on a break, he met the Indian film director B. V. Nandini Reddy, who asked him to work as a radio jockey for the radio station ‘World Space Satellite’ in Visakhapatnam. Nani agreed to it, and for almost a year he worked as an RJ for the radio show ‘Nonstop Nani.’ His radio show got immense popularity, and later, he received the RJ of the year award.

  

• The Indian film director B. V. Nandini Reddy was once working on a TV commercial. She asked Nani to work in the TV commercial, and he agreed to it.

• Working in the TV commercial turned out to be very favourable for his career. He was spotted by the Indian director Mohan Krishna Indraganti in the TV commercial, and Nani got his debut Telugu film ‘Ashta Chamma’ (2008) as an actor.

• He then acted in Telugu films such as ‘Ride’ (2009), ‘Snehituda…’ (2009), and ‘Bheemili Kabaddi Jattu’ (2010).

  

• He gained immense popularity with the Telugu-Tamil ‘Eega’ (2012) which was later dubbed in Malayalam as ‘Eecha’ and dubbed in Hindi as ‘Makkhi.’

  

• Some of his other films as an actor are ‘Yeto Vellipoyindhi Manasu’ (2012), ‘Bhale Bhale Magadivoy’ (2015), ‘Gentleman’ (2016), ‘Ninnu Kori’ (2017), and ‘Middle Class Abbayi’ (2017).

  

• He was invited as a guest contestant in the TV quiz show ‘Meelo Evaru Koteeswarudu Season 2’ (2015) and ‘Meelo Evaru Koteeswarudu Season 4’ (2018) for one episode each.

• Nani has hosted 2nd IIFA Utsavam in 2017 and Bigg Boss Telugu Season 2 in 2018.

  

• While he was travelling in his SUV car in 2018, his car rammed into an electric pole on Jubilee Hills Road No. 45, Hyderabad, at 4:30 am. ^[9]Hindustan Times Later, the local police involved in the case said,
  

  Fortunately, the airbags installed in the car saved their lives and the impact of the crash was reduced. A case has been booked under the Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.”

• In 2019, he acted in the Telugu film ‘Jersey’ which gave a boost to his career. He gained immense popularity with his role as Arjun in the film. In 2022, the Hindi adoption of the film with the same title was released in which the Indian actor Shahid Kapoor played the role of Arjun.

• He dubbed for the character of Simba in the Telugu version of the popular animated film ‘The Lion King.’

• The entertainment journalism platform ‘Film Companion’ listed his name among the “100 Greatest Performances of the Decade” in 2020 for his performance in the Telugu film ‘Jersey’ (2019). ^[10]Film Companion

• Nani then appeared in Telugu films like ‘V’ (2020), ‘Truck Jagadish’ (2021), and ‘Ante Sundaraniki’ (2022).

  

• He has also worked as a producer and co-producer in films like ‘Awe’ (co-producer; 2018), ‘HIT: The First Case’ (producer; 2020), ‘HIT: The Second Case’ (producer; 2022), and ‘Meet Cute’ (2022).

• Nani has also appeared in various TV commercials like Minister White and Sprite.

• He is a dog lover and owns a pet dog named Subbu.

  

• He is a religious person and often shares pictures of various spiritual events on his social media accounts.

  

• Nani is a big fan of the ace Indian actor Kamal Haasan.

  

• He has been featured on various magazine covers like You & I, Filmfare, ChAnNel 6, and Wow!

  

• While he is partying or hanging out with his friends, he loves to drink red wine. ^[11]Mirchi9

• Reportedly, Nani is addicted to smoking cigarettes. ^[12]GreatAndhra.com

Jersey (2019)