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Hi Nanna
Teaser poster
Directed by	Shouryuv
Screenplay by	Shouryuv Bhanu Dheeraj Rayudu Vasanth Sameer Pinnamaraju
Story by	Shouryuv
Dialogues by	Nagendra Kasi Vamshi Bommena
Produced by	Mohan Cherukuri (CVM) Dr. Vijender Reddy Teegala Murthy K. S.
Starring	Nani Mrunal Thakur
Cinematography	Sanu Varghese
Edited by	Praveen Anthony
Music by	Hesham Abdul Wahab
Production company	Vyra Entertainments
Release date	7 December 2023 (2023-12-07)
Running time	155 minutes
Country	India
Language	Telugu

Hi Nanna is a 2023 Indian Telugu-language romantic drama film directed by Shouryuv, in his directoral debut, and produced by Vyra Entertainments. The film stars Nani and Mrunal Thakur in lead roles.

The film was officially announced in January 2023 under the tentative title Nani 30, as it is Nani's 30th film as the lead actor, and the official title was announced in July 2023. Principal photography commenced in February 2023. It was shot sporadically in several legs, with filming locations including Mumbai, Hyderabad, Coonoor, and wrapped by late-September 2023. The film has music composed by Hesham Abdul Wahab, cinematography handled by Sanu Varghese and editing by Praveen Anthony.

Hi Nanna was released on 7 December 2023, where it received positive reviews from critics and became a commercial success.

Plot

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Six-year-old Mahi lives in Mumbai with her father, grandfather, and her pet dog, Pluto. Mahi suffers from cystic fibrosis, and her single father, Viraj, leaves no stone unturned to dote on her and look after her health, while pursuing his career as a successful fashion photographer. However, whenever Mahi expresses her curiosity about her missing mother, Viraj evades the topic. Eventually, upset when her father refuses to keep his end of the promise to narrate her mother's story, Mahi runs away from home with Pluto.

Mahi and Pluto cross paths with a lady named Yashna, who saves them from a traffic collision. At Mahi's request, Yashna invites Viraj to a restaurant. There, Yashna and Mahi compel Viraj to reveal the story about the little girl's mother, "Varsha". To help Mahi relate to her father's narrative, Yashna suggests the child imagine her as Varsha.

Viraj reluctantly recounts the story of Varsha- ten years ago, Viraj, a struggling photographer, met Varsha in Coonoor and fell in love with her at first sight. Varsha was initially reluctant because her parents' recent divorce caused her to lose faith in love, marriage, and family. However, she gradually reciprocated Viraj's feelings. Varsha's mother disapproved of the relationship due to Viraj's low financial status. Nevertheless, Varsha married Viraj, and the couple had a happy marriage despite the hardships. Eventually, Viraj and his friend, Justin, opened their own studio, becoming commercially successful photographers.

Three years after their wedding, Viraj revealed his intention to have children. Varsha was initially reluctant, but she changed her mind and agreed to conceive after Viraj's assurance. However, upon learning that Mahi was born with a fatal health condition, Varsha was devastated. She blamed Viraj and regretted ever falling in love with him and conceiving Mahi.

In the present, an upset Mahi stops her father from continuing the narration. Moreover, Viraj's story inexplicably resonates with Yashna, moving her to tears. She approaches Viraj in private and requests that he conclude the story. Viraj reveals that he and his wife met in an accident that night, mere moments after the latter expressed her regrets.

In a dramatic twist, it is revealed that Yashna and "Varsha" are the same person, and she is indeed Mahi's biological mother, who developed post-traumatic amnesia after surviving the accident and lost memories of her marriage, motherhood, and her parents' divorce. Yashna's mother ordered Viraj to disappear from her life, claiming that Yashna wanted a divorce before the accident. Viraj blamed himself for Yashna's tragedy and promised his mother-in-law that he would never see her again.

When Mahi ran away from home, Pluto recognized Yashna after all these years, which led to their chance encounter. Viraj renamed Yashna "Varsha" while recounting the story at the restaurant, to prevent Yashna and Mahi from discovering the truth. Still haunted by the past, Viraj becomes worried when Yashna is strangely drawn towards Mahi. He decides to keep Mahi and Yashna away, fearing that they wouldn't be able to cope with the truth. Viraj learns that Yashna is about to marry her fiancée, Dr. Aravind Bhatia, the neurosurgeon who treated Yashna after the accident, within a week. Under the pretext of a photoshoot, Viraj and Justin take Mahi and Pluto to Goa and plan to stay there until Yashna is married, to ensure that they will never meet the latter again. However, Mahi secretly contacts Yashna, who arrives in Goa to throw a surprise birthday party for the girl.

Yashna spends the next few days with Mahi. Even without her memories, Yashna finds herself yearning for Viraj and Mahi. At many instances, she finds herself immersing in the character of "Varsha". Eventually, Yashna realizes that she has fallen in love with Viraj and confesses her feelings for him. However, the moment is interrupted when Yashna learns that Aravind suddenly changed the wedding venue to Goa. On the day of the wedding, Mahi attempts to visit Yashna, but is intercepted by her grandmother (Yashna's mother), who bluntly reveals the truth to Mahi, thus shocking the girl. Later, Yashna follows Pluto, who takes her to meet Viraj and Mahi. Yashna reveals that she is prepared to leave everything to be with Mahi and Viraj if the latter accepts her love. However, Viraj and Mahi turn down Yashna harshly, leaving her heartbroken. Before leaving, Viraj enters the wedding and makes a scathing remark to Yashna's mother for bluntly revealing the truth he kept from Mahi.

As they leave Goa, Mahi has a sudden respiratory failure, and Viraj admits her to the hospital. Meanwhile, Mahi's grandfather arrives at Yashna's wedding venue. It is revealed that Mahi's grandfather is Yashna's estranged father and Viraj's father-in-law. Yashna's father advises her not to flee from her problems like "Varsha" did and urges her to fight for her love. He reveals Mahi's critical condition to Yashna. When Aravind argues that "Varsha" suffered because of Viraj, Yashna retorts that Viraj also suffered greatly and reveals that she never asked for a divorce before correcting herself that it is inconsistent with the story of "Varsha.". Aravind consents to Yashna to go to Viraj. Aravind confirms that Yashna's mother lied to Viraj about her daughter's request for a divorce.

Later, Yashna's father criticises his ex-wife's actions for attempting to control their daughter's life. It is revealed that after Yashna's accident, her father was touched by Viraj's determination and moved in with his son-in-law to help him raise Mahi. Yashna's father elaborates that Viraj's struggles for the sake of Mahi and her condition. For Yashna's sake, Viraj chose to remove her memories and move on. However, even after losing her memories, Yashna still fell in love with Viraj for the second time, indicating that they are fated to be together. Meanwhile, Yashna rushes to the hospital to support a distressed Viraj. Unexpectedly, Aravind, his brother, and his friends arrive at the hospital, revealing themselves to be eminent doctors. They volunteer to perform the operation to save Mahi. Before the operation, Yashna tells Mahi that she wants to live with them and promises to teach the girl a song. As they wait anxiously, Yashna tells Viraj how she wishes she could romance him in Coonoor and be Mahi's biological mother instead of "Varsha", contrary to how she regretted before the accident, unaware of the truth that "Varsha" is her past self before her amnesia. Mahi smiles as she watches her parents together for the first time.

The movie ends with a grown-up Mahi on the stage, singing the song taught by her mother, Yashna.

Cast

• Nani as Viraj, Yashna's husband, Mahi's father.
• Mrunal Thakur as Yashna / Varsha (Voice by Chinmayi Sripaada) Viraj's wife, Mahi's mother.
• Kiara Khanna as Mahi, Viraj and Yashna's daughter
• Jayaram as Yashna and Neha's father; Viraj's father-in-law and Mahi's Grandfather
• Priyadarshi Pulikonda as Justin, Viraj's friend
• Nassar as Dr. Ranjan
• Angad Bedi as Dr. Aravind Bhatia, Yashna’s fiancé
• Shilpa Tulaskar as Yashna and Neha’s mother; Viraj's mother-in-law and Mahi's grandmother
• Viraj Ashwin as Dr. Ashok Bhatia, Aravind’s brother
• Drishty Talwar as Neha, Yashna’s sister
• Myra Khanna as Mahima
  • Ritika Nayak in a cameo appearance as Adult Mahi
• Shruti Haasan in a special appearance as a model
• Neha Sharma in a cameo appearance as a model

Production

Development

On January 1, 2023, Vyra Entertainment announced their maiden production film, with Nani and Mrunal Thakur as cast and debut director Shouryuv, music and background score composer Hesham Abdul Wahab, cinematographer Sanu Varghese, editor Praveen Anthony, and art director Jothish Shankar as crew. It was tentatively titled Nani 30. The film marks Thakur's second Telugu film after Sita Ramam (2022). In late March, Angad Bedi was announced as being a part of the cast in his debut Telugu film. In late April, it was reported that Shruti Haasan was going to be a part of the cast. On July 13 July, the title Hi Nanna was revealed. Nani reportedly received ₹22 crore (US$2.6 million) as remuneration.

Filming

Principal photography began in February 2023, with the first schedule in Hyderabad. The second schedule commenced in Mumbai. The schedule was concluded by May 31. The third schedule was filmed in Ramoji Film City. Thakur wrapped up her portions for the schedule by July 27. The fourth schedule commenced on September 2 September in Coonoor. The schedule reportedly featured a song sequence.

Music

The music and background score is composed by Hesham Abdul Wahab in his maiden collaboration with Shouryuv and Nani. The audio rights were acquired by T-Series. The tracks "Samayama", "Gaaju Bomma", "Ammadi", "Odiyamma," and "Idhe Idhe" were released as singles before the full 10-song album on 18 December 2023. Wahab re-recorded the film's background score using artificial intelligence thereby becoming the first Indian film to do so.

Release

Theatrical

Hi Nanna had a worldwide theatrical release on 7 December 2023, along with dubbed versions in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi. The film was initially scheduled to release on 21 December 2023, but was later moved to 7 December 2023 in order to avoid clash with Salaar and Dunki.

Home media

The digital streaming and satellite rights of the film were sold for ₹37 crore (US$4.3 million) to Netflix. The film was made available on Netflix in January 2024 in Telugu, along with dubbed versions of Tamil, Hindi (Hi Papa), Kannada and Malayalam.

Reception

Critical response

Paul Nicodemus of The Times of India gave it 3.5/5 stars and wrote, "Hi Nanna is a must-watch for those seeking a blend of heart and soul in cinema." Raghu Bandi of The Indian Express gave it 3/5 stars and wrote "Nani and Mrunal Thakur star in a high-emotion drama that will remind you of actor's Jersey."

Neeshitha Nyayapati of Hindustan Times wrote, "Shouryuv’s debut film is an emotional drama that’ll tug at your heart, both with its performances and storyline." Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu wrote, "Shouryuv’s drama is a breather amid larger-than-life action entertainers." Ram Venkat Srikar of Film Companion wrote "Hi Nanna makes up for its weaker parts with some super strong emotional moments and even after not being convinced with it in certain aspects, it's a story that's largely satisfying on the emotional level."

Accolades

Notes

1. Awards, festivals and organizations are in alphabetical order.
2. Date is linked to the article about the awards held that year, wherever possible.

References

1. "Hi Nanna (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. 30 November 2023. Archived from the original on 3 December 2023. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
2. Dundoo, Sangeetha Devi (7 December 2023). "'Hi Nanna' movie review: A reaffirming story of love that conquers everything". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
3. Srikar, Ram Venkat (7 December 2023). "Hi Nanna Review: Heartfelt Treatment Overpowers Predictable Narrative". www.filmcompanion.in. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
4. ^ "The World Of Natural Star Nani, Mrunal Thakur and Shouryuv, Production No 1 (#Nani30) Unveiled". The Times of India. 1 January 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 1 January 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
5. ^ "Exclusive! Nani and Mrunal Thakur were my first choices for #Nani30: Shouryuv". The Times of India. 3 January 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 3 January 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
6. "Actor Angad Bedi to make his south debut with superstar Nani". The Times of India. 20 March 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 8 May 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
7. "Inside details about Shruti Haasan's role in Nani, Mrunal Thakur's #Nani30". The Times of India. 29 April 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 19 May 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
8. "Nani and Mrunal Thakur's film titled 'Hi Nanna': First glimpse reveals a heartwarming tale of a father-daughter bond". The Times of India. 13 July 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
9. "Is Nani charging Rs 22 crores as remuneration for 'Hi Nanna'?". The Times of India. 6 October 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 17 October 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
10. "Mrunal Thakur wraps Mumbai schedule of 'Nani 30', says "heart full of gratitude"". The Times of India. 31 May 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 4 June 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
11. "Mrunal Thakur wraps up another schedule of upcoming film 'Hi Nanna' with Natural star Nani". The Times of India. 27 July 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 28 July 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
12. "Hi Nanna: New shooting schedule of Nani and Mrunal Thakur starrer commences in scenic Coonoor". The Times of India. 2 September 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 24 October 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
13. "Samayama: First Single From Nani's Hi Nanna Out". Film Companion South. 8 September 2023. Archived from the original on 20 September 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
14. Bureau, The Hindu (15 October 2023). "'Hi Nanna' teaser: Nani, Mrunal Thakur star in a feel-good film on love and fatherhood". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 23 October 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
15. "Nani and Mrunal Thakur's 'Hi Nanna' teaser release date revealed". The Times of India. 13 October 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
16. "'Hi Nanna' box office collection day 1: Nani and Mrunal Thakur starrer makes a good opening". The Times of India. 8 December 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
17. "Mrunal Thakur, Nani's 'Hi Nanna' to be out on OTT on this date". 30 December 2023. Archived from the original on 4 January 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
18. "Hi Nanna Movie Review: Heartwarming Tale Of Love And Resilience; Nani, Mrunal, & Kiara Melt Hearts". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 3 January 2024. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
19. "Hi Nanna movie review: Nani, Mrunal Thakur impress in a poignant tale of love and bonding". The Indian Express. 7 December 2023. Archived from the original on 10 December 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
20. "Hi Nanna review: Nani, Mrunal Thakur, Kiara Khanna shine in this emotional tale". Hindustan Times. 7 December 2023. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
21. Dundoo, Sangeetha Devi (7 December 2023). "'Hi Nanna' movie review: A reaffirming story of love that conquers everything". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 8 December 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
22. "Hi Nanna Review: Heartfelt Treatment Overpowers Predictable Narrative". Film Companion. 7 December 2023. Archived from the original on 8 December 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
23. "Nominations for Filmfare Awards Telugu 2024 are out!". Filmfare. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
24. Filmfare (4 August 2024). "Full list of Winners of the 69th SOBHA Filmfare Awards South (Telugu) 2024". Archived from the original on 4 August 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
25. The Times of India (4 August 2024). "69th Sobha Filmfare Awards South 2024: Check out the winners". Archived from the original on 4 August 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
26. Bharat, E. T. V. (17 July 2024). "SIIMA 2024 Nominations Revealed: Nani's Dasara and Rajinikanth Starrer Jailer Lead with 11 Nominations Each". ETV Bharat News. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
27. "SIIMA 2024 full list of winners: Jailer, Dasara win big; Aishwarya Rai, Vikram, Nani, Nayanthara bag top acting honours". DNA India. Retrieved 20 September 2024.

External links

• Hi Nanna at IMDb

• 2023 films
• 2023 romantic drama films
• 2020s Indian films
• 2020s Telugu-language films
• Films about photographers
• Indian romantic drama films