Hi Nanna
Teaser poster
Directed byShouryuv
Screenplay byShouryuv
Bhanu Dheeraj Rayudu
Vasanth Sameer Pinnamaraju
Story byShouryuv
Dialogues byNagendra Kasi
Vamshi Bommena
Produced byMohan Cherukuri (CVM)
Dr. Vijender Reddy Teegala
Murthy K. S.
Starring
CinematographySanu Varghese
Edited byPraveen Anthony
Music byHesham Abdul Wahab
Production
company
Vyra Entertainments
Release date
  • 7 December 2023 (2023-12-07)
Running time
155 minutes[1]
CountryIndia
LanguageTelugu
Budget₹40 crores
Box officeest.₹75 crores

Hi Nanna (transl. Hi Dad) is a 2023 Indian Telugu-language romantic drama film. It was directed by Shouryuv who made a directorial debut in Telugu cinema with this movie. The film features Nani and Mrunal Thakur in the lead roles, alongside Kiara Khanna, Priyadarshi Pulikonda, Angad Bedi, Jayaram and Viraj Ashwin in supporting roles. The music was composed by Hesham Abdul Wahab. The cinematography and editing were handled by Sanu Varghese and Praveen Anthony. The film opened to positive critical reviews, praising the performances, emotional depth and the story. The film was commercially successful.

Plot

In Mumbai, a celebrated fashion photographer Viraj's life is all about his six-year-old daughter Mahi, who is battling cystic fibrosis and they reside with the latter's grandfather, who is apparently Viraj's father. Mahi implores her hesitating father to recount the story of her mother and he agrees to comply if she transcends in her examinations. Nevertheless, he doesn't stand by his word, upsetting Mahi, who exits home in fury with their pet dog Pluto and crosses paths with an enigmatic woman Yashna, who rescues her from a traffic collision. Befriending Yashna, Mahi recruits her assistance to convince Viraj to tell her about her mother; together, they compel Viraj to recount the story of his wife and going by Yashna's advice, Mahi imagines her to be her biological mother Varsha.

Viraj and Varsha happened to cross paths in Coonoor when the former was struggling financially and Viraj falls in love at first sight; despite his sincere pursuit, Varsha refuses to reciprocate, disclosing her disbelief in the concept of love, marriage and kids, citing her parents' constant clashes and impending divorce to be the root cause but she offers to be his friend as long as she is in Coonor. However, she eventually falls in love with him but upon discovering that he has given up Pluto, an infant dog he has found, to an affluent family, she condemns his lack of responsibility and departs to Mumbai. A few weeks later, Viraj shows up with Pluto in Mumbai and Varsha ultimately reciprocates his feelings. Varsha's mother disapproves of their relationship, deploring his impoverished monetary status but Varsha leaves everyone in Viraj's favour and marries him. After three years of blissful marital life, during which Viraj inaugurates his own studio and they settle, he divulges his intention of having kids but Varsha's aversion to parenthood strains their relationship. She finally agrees to conceive, hoping that this would be the best decision of her life, but Mahi's birth reveals her fatal health condition, leading to further tensions. A dispirited Varsha blames Viraj and regrets conceiving Mahi. At this point, a tearful Mahi restrains Viraj from narrating the story and later, on Yashna's insistence, Viraj discloses to Yashna that he and Varsha had met with a fateful accident, in which Varsha apparently died.

Yashna is given away as Mahi's mother and Viraj's wife, who was inflicted with Post-traumatic amnesia after her accident; her mother implored Viraj to step away from Yashna's life since she would fall apart if she is notified of Mahi's condition and the least chances she had to live. Viraj and Yashna have crossed paths again when their dog Pluto gets excited on seeing and runs towards Yashna. Viraj had recounted the tale with a few changes to throw Yashna off the scent. Nonetheless, Yashna and Mahi's bond strengthens, worrying Viraj, who instantaneously departs to Goa under pretext of a project with Mahi. Mahi manages to pass on her whereabouts to Yashna, who shows up with a surprise birthday party for her, something that Viraj had forgotten. Yashna's sister Neha entreats Viraj to let Yashna be with Mahi for a few days since she is getting married off to Dr. Aravind within a week's time. Viraj, Yashna, Mahi and Pluto share a fleeting but cherished moment together after a dispute; the next morning, Yashna proposes to Viraj but he minds the promise he had made to her mother and dismisses her proposal; Aravind schedules their wedding in Goa and a broken Yashna proceeds with her planned wedding. As Mahi decides to pay a visit to Yashna before leaving Goa for her surgery, Yashna's mother restricts her and discloses the truth, shattering her. Aravind's brother Ashok mistakes Viraj to be Yashna's stalker and assaults him only to be desisted by Aravind, who is not oblivious to Yashna's previous marriage and suggests that Viraj leave. As Viraj, Mahi and the former's friend Justin leave to Mumbai, Mahi has a respiratory failure and is immediately admitted into a hospital.

Mahi's grandfather, who is unveiled to Yashna's father, shows up at Yashna's wedding and advises her to fight for her love and notifies her of Mahi's condition. With Aravind's consent, Yashna deserts her wedding with Neha and immediately rushes to the hospital, restoring her relationship with Viraj; Yashna's father persuades his ex-wife to let Yashna and Viraj reconcile, pointing their unconditional love for each other and tells her that he had chosen to stay with Viraj and Mahi instead of Yashna since he felt needed to them. As Mahi's doctor is in quandary about her condition despite being sanctioned a lung for transplantation since they're not equipped with qualified doctors for such a complicated surgery, Aravind, Ashok and his friends, who turn out to be extremely renowned doctors, volunteer to perform the operation that has a supposed 0.1% probability and rescue Mahi, empathizing with her. As Viraj's hope reignites, Yashna, contradictory what she had wished for before her accident, wishes that she had conceived Mahi instead of "Varsha". As Mahi survives, the film ends with her grown self singing a song taught by Yashna on stage.

Cast

  • Nani as Viraj
  • Mrunal Thakur as Yashna aka Varsha (voice dubbed by Chinmayi)
  • Kiara Khanna as Mahi, Viraj and Yashna's daughter
  • Nassar as Dr. Ranjan
  • Jayaram as Yashna and Neha's father; Viraj' father-in-law and Mahi's grandfather
  • Priyadarshi Pulikonda as Justin, Viraj's friend
  • Angad Bedi as Dr. Aravind Bhatia, Yashna’s fiancé
  • Shilpa Tulaskar as Yashna and Neha’s mother; Viraj' mother-in-law and Mahi's grandmother
  • Viraj Ashwin as Dr. Ashok Bhatia, Aravind’s brother
  • Drishty Talwar as Neha, Yashna/Varsha’s sister
  • Myra Khanna as Mahima
  • Shruti Haasan in a cameo appearance as a model in the song "Odiyamma"
  • Neha Sharma in a cameo appearance as a model

Production

Development

On 1 January 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 as Nani 30.[2] The film marks Thakur's second Telugu film after Sita Ramam (2022).[3] In late March, Angad Bedi was announced being a part of the cast in his debut Telugu film.[4] In late April, it was reported that Shruti Haasan was going be a part of the cast.[5] On 13 July, the title Hi Nanna was revealed.[6] Nani reportedly received ₹22 crore (US$2.8 million) as remuneration.[7]

Filming

Principal photography began in February 2023, with the first schedule in Hyderabad. The second schedule commenced in Mumbai.[3] The schedule concluded by 31 May.[8] The third schedule was filmed in Ramoji Film City. Thakur wrapped up her portions for the schedule by 27 July.[9] The fourth schedule commenced on 2 September in Coonoor. The schedule reportedly featured a song sequence.[10]

Music

The music and background score is composed by Hesham Abdul Wahab, in his maiden collaboration with Shouryuv and Nani.[2] The audio rights were acquired by T-Series.[11] The tracks "Samayama",[12] "Gaaju Bomma",[13] "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.[14]

Release

Theatrical

Hi Nanna had a worldwide theatrical release on 7 December 2023, along with dubbed versions in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi languages.[15] The film was initially scheduled to release on 21 December 2023, but later moved to 7 December 2023 in order to avoid clash with Salaar and Dunki.[16]

Home media

The digital streaming and satellite rights of the film were sold to Gemini TV and Netflix. The film was made available on Netflix from 4 January 2024 in Telugu, along with dubbed versions of Tamil, Hindi, Kannada and Malayalam.[17]

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 6 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.7/10.[18]

Paul Nicodemus of The Times of India gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote "Hi Nanna a must-watch for those seeking a blend of heart and soul in cinema."[19] Raghu Bandi of The Indian Express gave 3/5 stars and wrote "Nani and Mrunal Thakur star in a high-emotion drama that will remind you of actor's Jersey."[20]

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."[21] Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu wrote "Shouryuv’s drama is a breather amid larger-than-life action entertainers."[22] 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."[23]

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. 1 2 "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.
  3. 1 2 "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.
  4. ↑ "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.
  5. ↑ "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.
  6. ↑ "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.
  7. ↑ "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.
  8. ↑ "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.
  9. ↑ "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.
  10. ↑ "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.
  11. ↑ "Popular music label grabs Hi Nanna's audio rights". 123telugu.com. 16 July 2023. Archived from the original on 16 July 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  12. ↑ FC, Team (8 September 2023). "Samayama: First Single From Nani's Hi Nanna Out". Film Companion South. Archived from the original on 20 September 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  13. ↑ "Hi Nanna Song 'Gaaju Bomma': Nani and Kiara Khanna's Melodious Number Is the Sweetest Ode to Every Father and Daughter (Watch Lyrical Video) | 🎥 LatestLY". LatestLY. 6 October 2023. Archived from the original on 24 October 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  14. ↑ "Hi Nanna becomes the first Telugu movie to embrace this tech – Deets inside". 123telugu.com. 5 December 2023. Archived from the original on 13 December 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  15. ↑ 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.
  16. ↑ "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.
  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 - Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. 7 December 2023. Archived from the original on 10 December 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  19. ↑ "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.
  20. ↑ "Hi Nanna movie review: Nani, Mrunal Thakur impress in a poignant tale of love and bonding". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 10 December 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  21. ↑ "Hi Nanna review: Nani, Mrunal Thakur, Kiara Khanna shine in this emotional tale". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  22. ↑ "'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.
  23. ↑ "Hi Nanna Review: Heartfelt Treatment Overpowers Predictable Narrative". Film Companion. Archived from the original on 8 December 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
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