Key Highlights:

  • A Milestone Moment: Telugu star Nani marked 18 years in the film industry, expressing gratitude to fans for their sustained support.
  • His Message: He wrote on X, "18 years. Officially an adult in cinema. Never took your love for granted. I won't ever."
  • Where It All Began: Nani's debut film, "Ashta Chamma," directed by Mohana Krishna Indraganti, released on September 5, 2008.
  • Growth Beyond Acting: Over 18 years, Nani has expanded his career from actor to hero and producer within the Telugu film industry.
  • What's Next: He is currently awaiting the release of "The Paradise," an intense action entertainer directed by Srikanth Odela, set to hit screens on September 24 after two prior postponements.

Telugu star Nani, who has completed 18 years in the film industry as an actor, on Saturday told fans and audiences that he had never taken their love for granted — and reassured them that he never would.

Taking to his X timeline to mark the milestone, Nani wrote: "18 years. Officially an adult in cinema 😊 Never took your love for granted. I won't ever."

The actor's first film, Ashta Chamma, directed by Mohana Krishna Indraganti, released on September 5, 2008.

From actor to producer: Over these 18 years, Nani has built one of Telugu cinema's more distinctive careers — moving from lead actor to producer without stepping away from performances that earned him two Filmfare Critics Awards for Best Actor (Telugu), for Bhale Bhale Magadivoy and Shyam Singha Roy, along with recognition for films like Gentleman, Jersey, Ante Sundaraniki and Dasara. In 2018, he launched his own production house, Wall Poster Cinema, along with costume designer Prashanti Tipirneni, with a stated goal of backing fresh directorial talent and unconventional scripts rather than star-driven spectacles. The banner's debut production, Awe (2018), went on to win two National Film Awards (Best Special Effects and Best Make-Up Artist), and it later backed the HIT franchise — HIT: The First Case and HIT: The Second Case — which helped launch director Sailesh Kolanu.

Nani is currently working on director Srikanth Odela's action entertainer The Paradise, set to release on September 24. The film, backed by SLV Cinemas, was originally scheduled for a March 26, 2026 release before being pushed first to August 21 and then to September 24.

A recently released teaser has heightened anticipation. It opens with a voiceover asking, "Henceforth, to whom does this place belong?" before Nani makes a dramatic entrance with an acrobatic stunt — sporting two plaits, drenched in blood, and sipping a beverage as he walks. Mohan Babu, playing the antagonist, is seen referring to the people as "My beloved people of Paradise." A series of blood-soaked action sequences follow, accompanied by a woman's voice asking, "Is the government meant for your feudal lords or for the people?" and a man declaring that the "oppressed race must rise in rebellion." The teaser ends with cries of "Whose land is this? Ours!" as Nani, covered in blood and seated on a pile of bodies, wards off the evil eye.

Together, the teaser suggests The Paradise will be an intense, rebellion-themed action thriller centred on Nani leading the oppressed against tyranny.

The film is expected to release in eight languages: Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, English, Spanish, Bengali, Kannada and Malayalam.