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Naga Chaitanya on wife Sobhita Dhulipala being his lady luck: The foundation at home translates into professional life
Naga Chaitanya talks about how his professional life has flourished since wedding with Sobhita Dhulipala, and reflects on his recent State award for Thandel
Naga Chaitanya achieved a big professional milestone recently as he won the Best Actor award at the prestigious Gaddar Telangana Film Awards 2025 for his film Thandel (2025). The film, starring Chaitanya and Sai Pallavi, saw the actor take on the role of a fisherman in a village, and the portrayal brought him critical and commercial acclaim.
As his award comes from the Telangana government, Naga Chaitanya admits it makes it more special. “Thandel is very special to me. It is a true story about fishermen from an Andhra village. So telling their heroic story was inspiring. I spent time with them to understand them and I learned so much personally and it motivated me so much. I got very attached to their stories, their lives, and all that energy, sort of transferred into the film. The process to transform into Thandel Raju was a very challenging process for me. Now with the government recognising it, it's been amazing," he says, adding, "I was happy about the film's box office number, but having this critical acclaim and the government recognizing it, I'm just so thankful.”
Interestingly, Thandel marked his first release post his wedding with actor Sobhita Dhulipala in 2024. It emerged as a critical success and even became his highest grossing film, crossing the milestone of ₹100 crores worldwide. Now, with this award too, does he feel Sobhita has been his lucky charm, his lady luck? "I always say that your foundation is very important because the strength and energy at home sort of translates to your professional life as well. So, yes, of course she has," he responds.
With Sobhita Dhulipala having a flourishing career in Hindi and him in Telugu, do they give each other advice on how to navigate their work? “We are both so curious about films that we're constantly discussing them. We talk about each other's projects and just have an intellectual banter about industries. We discuss what's happening there, what's happening here, what are the kind of scripts and stories being made. It's not just about a specific industry, but there's always a creative banter about films, about the craft that we have more than anything else,” he replies. So, is an onscreen collaboration on the cards for the couple? He responds, “We are always open to it. Of course, if we find something that excites both of us, something fresh, then why not?”
