Nani (actor)

Nani
Nani at the Eega release function in 2012
Born	Naveen Babu Ghanta Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India (now in Telangana, India)
Residence	Hyderabad, Telangana, India
Other names	Natural Star
Occupation	Actor, producer, assistant director
Years active	2008–present
Spouse(s)	Anjana Yalavarthi (2012–present)
Website	Official website

Naveen Babu Ghanta, better known by his nickname Nani, is a South Indian actor who stars in Telugu films and a few Tamil films. After his education, he became an assistant director and worked with Srinu Vaitla and Bapu, before working as an RJ for World Space Satellite in Hyderabad. He won Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor – South for the film Bhale Bhale Magadivoy.

Nani was brought up in Hyderabad, India. He did his schooling from St. Alphonsa's High School and then studied in Narayana Junior College, S.R Nagar before graduating from Wesley's.

Nani got engaged on 12 August 2012, to his girlfriend of five years, Anjana Yelavarthy. Speaking to Hyderabad Times, the actor said, "We exchanged rings in a simple ceremony in Visakhapatnam that was attended by both our families." The couple got married on 27 October that year, in a private ceremony in the city.

During his graduation, Nani "got addicted" to movies, citing Mani Ratnam as a big influence on him. He wanted to become a director; thanks to producer Anil, who was a distant relative of his, Nani could join director Bapu as a "clap director" for the film Radha Gopalam that Anil was producing at that time. He then worked for films including Allari Bullodu, Dhee and Astram. Nani took a sabbatical to work on a film script. Nandini Reddy, a friend who was then working as a radio jockey for World Space Satellite, offered Nani work as an RJ. He accepted and worked for one year, hosting a program named "Non-Stop Nani". He was offered the film Ashta Chamma, also starring Swati Reddy, when the film's director Mohan Krishna Indraganti noticed him in an advertisement. 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 diction is good too." The film was a Super Hit at the Box office. His second film, Ride, was produced by Bellamkonda Suresh in which Tanish, Swetha Basu Prasad and Aksha Pardasany played 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. 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 the bill" and praised him for selecting the script, and Oneindia Entertainment commented that Nani "has given his best" and "suited perfectly to the role". The film was a surprise hit at the Box office.