From Clap Boy to Natural Star: How Nani brought a difference to Telugu cinema and filmmaking

Nani

• Nani redefined Telugu rom-coms before shifting to intense roles
• He gained fame for Jersey, Dasara, and Bhale Bhale Magadivoy
• Nani's move leaves a gap in heartfelt Telugu romantic dramas

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When people talk about Telugu movies from the 2010s, they remember not only the big, flashy action movies and dramas, but also the quiet, sweet love stories that stole people's hearts. One actor stood out from the rest in that wave: Nani.

As Nani turns 42, it seems like the right time to look back on the career of an actor who changed the romantic-comedy scene in Tollywood and then slowly left it.

From "Clap Boy" to "Natural Star"

Nani's real name is Ghanta Naveen Babu, and his entry into the film industry was anything but normal. He worked behind the scenes as a clap assistant and assistant director without any help from the industry or his family. He then briefly became a radio jockey. His show "Non-Stop Nani" got him some attention, but it was director Mohana Krishna Indraganti who gave him his first acting job after seeing him in a commercial.

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Ashta Chamma (2008), a charming adaptation of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, was her first movie. The movie wasn't a huge hit, but it made Nani a promising new face with an easy-to-relate-to screen presence.

Finding His Place

The years that came after were a time of trying new things. Movies like Ala Modalaindi changed the game for him and put him firmly in the romantic-comedy lane. Pilla Zamindar came out soon after, which made him even more popular with younger audiences.

In 2012, Nani showed off his incredible range by making two very different movies. S. S. Rajamouli directed Eega, a very creative revenge drama in which he played a man who was reincarnated as a housefly. That same year, he won the Nandi Award for Best Actor for Yeto Vellipoyindhi Manasu, which was directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon. This showed how deep his emotions were.

Taking Over the Rom-Com Era

Nani became known for making feel-good Telugu movies from 2015 to 2017. Bhale Bhale Magadivoy was a huge commercial success that won him the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor. After that, there were a lot of successful movies, such as Krishna Gaadi Veera Prema Gaadha, Gentleman, Nenu Local, Ninnu Kori, and Middle Class Abbayi.

His nickname, "Natural Star," wasn't just a marketing tool. Nani loved playing flawed, charming, everyday guys that people could relate to. He wasn't a hero in the movies. He was the guy next door who you could relate to.

A Change Toward Intensity

A change became clear around 2019. Jersey changed the way people saw him as a fun person. Nani gave one of the best performances of his career as a 36-year-old cricketer trying to make up for past mistakes.

He then took on darker, more complicated roles, like a layered character in V, a dual-timeline drama in Shyam Singha Roy, and the rough, coal-mining setting of Dasara, which won him his first Filmfare Award for Best Actor. Projects like Saripodhaa Sanivaaram and HIT: The Third Case made it even more clear that he was moving toward thrillers and intense stories.

Still, during this time of change, he briefly went back to romance with Ante Sundaraniki and Hi Nanna. The latter, in which he played a single father, balanced emotional drama with tenderness and was a big hit at the box office.

The Space He Leaves Behind

Most of the biggest stars in Telugu cinema today, like Mahesh Babu, Prabhas, Ram Charan, and Jr NTR, work in high-scale action movies. For years, Nani provided a reliable option: mid-budget romantic dramas that didn't rely on special effects but on story and character.

That area feels much quieter now that his attention has clearly shifted to thrillers and movies that focus on performance. There aren't as many heartfelt, relatable romantic movies coming out all the time like there were in the 2010s.

Nani hasn't gone away; he's changed. But by doing this, he has left behind a genre that he used to carry almost all by himself. And for a lot of people who grew up with those warm, imperfect love stories, that lack is felt in a quiet way.