Happy Birthday Nani: 5 Rom-Coms of the Natural Star for a fuzzy feeling

Grabbing the golden opportunity to star as a male lead without any filmy background is a dream for all movie aspirants and Nani grabbed it with both hands. Hailing from a middle-class family in Hyderabad, the youngster kick-started his celluloid journey as a ‘clap director’ for legendary director Bapu’s ‘Radha Gopalam’. After a handful of films, he took a sabbatical to work on his own script and in the meantime, donned the hat of a Radio Jockey (RJ) and hosted the highly-successful ‘Non-Stop Nani’. Tables turned for Nani after Indraganti Mohan Krishna spotted him in an advertisement and offered him the lead role in ‘Ashta Chamma’. The rest was history!

The boy-next-door looks, simple personality and the gift of gab have catapulted an ordinary Nani into the Natural Star of Tollywood. Besides the realistic and relatable roles, the selection of scripts by this 35-year-old actor is commendable. After thoroughly entertaining the viewers’ alongside Nagarjuna in ‘Devadasu’, Nani is stepping into the shoes of an ageing cricketer in the upcoming sports-drama ‘Jersey’. His untitled romantic-thriller with Vikram Kumar has already launched and he will reportedly essay the role of a playboy romancing five heroines. On the occasion of his 35th birthday, watch these 5 rom-coms of the Natural Star for a fuzzy feeling.

Helmed by sensitive filmmaker Mohan Krishna Indraganti, this 2008 romantic comedy announced the arrival of Nani in Telugu cinema. During the time when high-octane actioners were ruling the roost, Ashta Chamma came as much-needed relief to the viewers and kicked-off the rom-com trend once again. Along with Colours Swathi’s hilarious antics, Nani stole the show with his energetic screen-presence and witty one-liners. Despite being a debutante, the talented actor showed no signs of nervousness and the film went on to become a blockbuster at the box-office.

After an emotional performance in the sports-drama ‘Bheemili Kabaddi Jattu’, Nani returned to his forte of rom coms and excelled in the role of a confused and kind-hearted Gautham. The Nandini Reddy directorial introduced a talented beauty to Telugu cinema named Nithya Menen and the debutante rocked the stage with her amusing chemistry with Nani. The cute pair looked mesmerising on the celluloid and Kalyani Malik’s soothing numbers gave the film a huge boost. Helmed on a shoe-string budget, ‘Ala Modalaindi’ managed to surprise the trade by amassing big numbers at the ticket counters.

The 2015 romantic-comedy helmed by Maruthi revived the protagonist career of Nani who faced a string of flops until then. With his hilarious expressions and impeccable comedy-timing, the ‘Eega’ star delivered his best performance as an absent-minded Lucky who tries to hide his inherent memory-related flaws from his girlfriend. ‘Bhale Bhale Magadivoy’ also saw the phenomenal rise in Nani’s acting potential. The blockbuster romantic-comedy developed a cult following over the years.

Immediately after BBM, Nani enthralled the viewers’ once again with his brilliant portrayal as the soft-natured Krishna who would go the extra mile when it comes to his girlfriend in ‘Krishna Gaadi Veera Prema Gaadha’. Blended with comedy, romance and action, the Rayalaseema-backdrop film managed to become a success both on the critical and commercial front. Vishal Chandrasekhar composed some terrific songs for the film which introduced Mehreen Pirzada to Tollywood.

The 2016 rom-com continued the victory streak for the Natural Star in Telugu cinema. Despite a predictable storyline, Nani saved the day with an effortlessly winning performance as Aditya. According to a reviewer, “More than the script, it’s Nani who makes the narrative captivating and engrossing.” Despite mixed reviews from critics, Majnu managed to register good numbers at the box-office, thus giving the young hero his fourth consecutive hit. Chicago bombshell Anu Emmanuel made her Tollywood debut with this rom-com.