Nani

Ghanta Naveen Babu, better known by his stage name Nani is a prominent actor in Telugu cinema who has also made a name for himself as a producer and television presenter. He completed his schooling at St. Alphonso's High School and then attended Narayana Junior College before graduating from Wesley College.

Nani was inspired to join the movie industry as a director by Mani Ratnam. He got his break as a clap director with producer Anil Kumar for the movie Radha Gopalam (2005) in 2005.

He also worked as a director for the movies Allari Bullodu (2005), Asthram (2006), and Dhee (2007). He then took a break from the industry in order to work on a film script. During the time, his friend Bhargavi Mallela who was working for World Space Satellite as an RJ, offered him a job to work as an RJ. Nani accepted the offer and hosted a program named "Non-Stop Nani" for a year.

Later, Nani got noticed by Mohana Krishna Indraganti in a commercial, who offered him an acting role in the movie Ashta Chamma (2008) with which he entered the Telugu movie industry in the year 2008. The movie received critical acclaim and was well received at the box office. His next film, Ride (2009), did exceptionally well at the box office and got him many notable films. After that movie, Nani became a household name and each of his performances got him a lot of positive feedback from critics.

Later, he went on to become a significant part of many famous movies, such as Bheemli Kabadi Jattu (2010), Ala Modalaindi (2011), Pilla Zamindar (2011), Yeto Vellipoyindhi Manasu (2012), Yevade Subramanyam (2015), Bhale Bhale Magadivoy (2015), Krishna Gaadi Veera Prema Gaadha (2016), Gentleman (2016), Majnu (2016), Nenu Local (2017), Ninnu Kori (2017), MCA Middle Class Abbayi (2017), Devadas (2018), Jersey (2019), Shyam Singha Roy (2021), and Ante Sundharaniki (2022). He was cast in S.S. Rajamouli's project Eega (2012). It was also shot in Tamil, featuring renowned actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu. He was also cast in the renowned Telugu-language romantic comedy film Ante Sundharaniki (2022) in 2022, opposite Nazriya Nazim.

He went on to produce the movie D for Dopidi (2013) in 2013- it performed moderately at the box office. He later launched his own film production house, Wall poster Cinema, along with Prashanti Tipirineni, a costume designer. The very first movie released under the banner was Awe! (2018) & was among the best-performed films at the box office and received two awards at the 66th National Film Awards for Best Special Effects and Best Make-Up Artist.

In June 2018, Nani made his debut in the television industry by hosting the reality show Big Boss 2. Afterward, he went on to become the brand ambassador for Otto's Minister White.

Nani's success at the box office was evident- his performances received several accolades from critics. Nani received two Critics Choice Best Actor Male - Tamil, two Nandi Awards, and Best Hero Award at Toronto After Dark Film Festival, four SIIMA Awards.