Nani's wife Anjana reminisces watching a ‘nobody’ like him turn into a star as he completes 17 years in cinema

Nani debuted in cinema 17 years ago with the 2008 film Ashta Chamma. His wife, Anjana Yelavarthy, reminisced about it.

17 years ago, on 5 September 2008, Nani debuted on screen with the Mohan Krishna Indraganti-directed Ashta Chamma. His then-girlfriend and now-wife, Anjana Yelavarthy, reminisced about watching a ‘nobody’ like him turn into an actor worth his salt. She even posted pictures of the memorable moments. Take a look.

Nani and Anjana Yelavarthy dated for years before getting married in 2012.

Anjana on Nani completing 17 years in cinema

One picture Anjana posted on her Instagram stories was clicked from behind and shows Nani walking across a crowded theatre. She put hearts around him in the picture, writing, “17 years ago, I witnessed a ‘nobody’ walk into a packed theatre and step out as someone who was truly meant to be there. :)” The picture seems to have been taken after a screening of Ashta Chamma.

Anjana Yelavarthy posted a picture of Nani from 17 years ago.

Another picture she posted shows her sitting in the audience with anticipation on her face. She wrote, “Clearly in awe (heart emoji).” The picture also seems to have been taken at the same screening of his debut film. Nani reshared her post on his Instagram stories with red heart emojis. He also re-shared his sister, Deepthi Ganta, praising him for ‘thriving’ in these 17 years.

Anjana also posted a picture of herself watching Nani's first film.

For the uninitiated, Nani and Anjana met in Visakhapatnam when he was working there as a radio jockey. The two fell in love and dated for years before getting married in a close-knit ceremony in 2012. Their son, Arjun, whom they lovingly call Junnu, was born in 2017.

Nani’s career and rise to stardom

After Ashta Chamma became a hit and turned Nani into a household name overnight, he starred in films like Ride and Snehituda, which weren’t received as well. The 2011 Nandini Reddy-directed Ala Modalaindi put him back on track again, and he went on to act in hit films like Pilla Zamindar, Eega, Yevade Subramanyam and more.

Nani was last seen in HIT: The Third Case this year. After a string of films that received mixed reviews, he starred in films like Dasara, Hi Nanna and Saripodhaa Sanivaaram in 2023 and 2024. He is now shooting for The Paradise with Dasara director Srikanth Odela. It is slated for release on 26 March 2026.