Nuvvu Naaku Nachav

<p>Venkateswarlu “Venky” is an unemployed graduate from . He moves to to find a job on his father Sekharam’s insistence. He arrives at his father’s childhood friend, Srinivasa Moorthy’s house to stay there. Meanwhile, Moorthy’s daughter Nandini “Nandu” is engaged to Prasad, a software professional from the USA. Venky helps the family in making arrangements and soon bonds with everyone. He also has petty fights with Nandu who start their relationship with hatred that later turns into a friendship. At the request of Sekharam, Murthy helps Venky in securing a job. Moorthy’s sister Sujatha also arrives at their house. She shares a special bond with her niece Nandu and talks about the importance of marriage and finding a loving partner. Soon, Nandu develops feelings for Venky and confesses her love to him. Venky, who does not want to spoil the relationship between their parents, leaves the house. However, Murthy goes to the railway station and talks to Venky. As Venky returns, Nandu stops talking to him. Later, Venky accompanies Nandu and Pinky (Nandu’s cousin) to Nandu’s friend Asha’s wedding. After the wedding, they go to an amusement park where they meet a photographer. Following their trip, Venky also realizes his love for Nandu but does not express it, pretending not to have any feelings for her. As Nandu’s wedding approaches, Venky takes the onus of making arrangements for it. The demure Nandu is shattered and tells Sujatha about her love. Sujatha talks to Venky, asking him not to let Nandu suffer by rejecting her. Sekharam overhears the conversation that leaves him speechless. On the other hand, Prasad’s family gets hold of a photo in which Venky and Nandu intimately hold their hands. They demand additional dowry of from Moorthy for the marriage, alleging that his daughter has an affair with Venky. Furious Moorthy admonishes Nandu but Sujatha backs her by telling him that falling in love is not a woman’s fault. Venky goes to Prasad’s family and begs them not to call off the wedding. He vouches that Nandu is not at fault but Prasad’s family couldn’t care less. Moorthy arrives and asks them to leave. Moorthy tells Venky that he shouldn’t have kept his love hidden. Venky, however, is ready to sacrifice his love so that Moorthy and Sekharam’s friendship is not spoiled. Moorthy is moved and lets Venky marry his daughter. On their wedding day, the photographer confesses that he handed over their photo to the house servant Banthi to deliver to the bridegroom, believing that Nandu and Venky were getting married. Banthi, however, gave the photo to Prasad. The photographer is shocked to learn that the previous wedding was called off due to his photo and a new wedding is taking place. After the success of (2000), producer decided to collaborate again with director and writer . Impressed by their previous work, he had already given them an advance for their next film, which became . Vijaya Bhaskar and Trivikram were tasked with crafting a family-oriented story. They completed the script in two months, and it received unanimous approval from the team for its strong narrative. Since much of the film is set within a single house, outdoor sequences were added to provide variety. This led to the inclusion of the episode and ‘s wedding scenes. Similarly, ‘s character, which was not part of the original script, was included to add humour and variety to the second half of the film. The character was inspired by ‘s comedic style. The dinner scene in the film was influenced by a similar scene from (2000). Initially, there were discussions about casting actor in the lead role, but due to the requirement for strong comedic timing and emotional depth, the team decided to opt for a different actor. At this point, producer informed Sravanthi Ravi Kishore about the availability of actor ’s dates. Vijaya Bhaskar and Trivikram then presented the story to Venkatesh, who expressed interest, and the film went into production. For the female lead, actresses such as and were initially considered, but ultimately, , who had previously acted in a Hindi film, was chosen. marked her Telugu debut. For the role of the heroine’s father, director Vijaya Bhaskar suggested , but producer Sravanthi Ravi Kishore insisted on casting . Due to a ban on Prakash Raj by the (MAA), scenes without his character were filmed first. Once the ban was lifted, Prakash Raj joined the shoot and completed his scenes in 17 days. A house set, designed by art director Peketi Ranga, was constructed at in , costing around ₹60 . This set became a key location in the film. The song “Naa Choope Ninu” was described by Vijaya Bhaskar as a “haunting tune,” which led the team to shoot it abroad. Filmed in for its vibrant and picturesque landscapes, the cold weather presented challenges, especially for Venkatesh, who had to wear light costumes. Filming was completed in just 64 days. The total production cost of was ₹4.5 , excluding Venkatesh’s fee of ₹2.5 crore. After filming concluded, began with composer . Initially, the result did not meet producer Sravanthi Ravi Kishore’s expectations. However, after revising the work, Koti delivered a version that satisfied Ravi Kishore. Koti completed the re-recording in 25 days. The film was released with a runtime of over three hours. Concerns were raised regarding its length, particularly about the episode featuring , which was suggested for removal. However, Sravanthi Ravi Kishore insisted on retaining every scene, ensuring that not a single scene was cut. The soundtrack for was composed by and released by . It quickly achieved triple status upon its release. “Okkasari Cheppaleva” is based on the ‘ song ” “. For the same song, lyricist penned 60 different versions of the . Ultimately, the first version was finalised for the film. “Naa Choope Ninu” was sung by Sriram Prabhu, marking his playback debut for Venkatesh. An alternate version was recorded with a North Indian singer, but the team ultimately chose Sriram Prabhu’s rendition as it was deemed more suitable. was released on 6 September 2001, with the date announced three months in advance. Producer Sravanthi Ravi Kishore adopted a transparent approach by allowing distributors to preview the film’s and arrange screenings upon request. The film had a wide release with 113 prints across 147 centres, marking the largest release of Venkatesh’s career at the time. The film had a theatrical business of ₹7.24 and earned a of ₹2.63 crore in its opening week. It eventually collected a total distributors’ share of ₹18 crore during its entire theatrical run, emerging as the third highest-grossing Telugu film at the time. The film had a 50-day run in 93 centres and a 100-day run in 57 centres. It also celebrated a 175-day run in three centres. rated the film 4/5, and was in praise of the performances of the lead cast and the screenplay. “The strength of the film is Venky, Aarti, the comedy dialogues and sensible direction,” the reviewer added. which rated 3 stars out of 5, criticised the film for “lack of freshness”, and “weak screenplay,” and opined that the film resembles a “wedding album.” is considered one of the most celebrated comedies in Venkatesh’s career and is regarded as a classic of early 2000s Telugu cinema. The character of Banthi, portrayed by , became particularly popular, contributing to his rise as one of the leading comedians in the industry. The film’s dialogues and comedy scenes have become iconic, and it continues to garner high ratings during frequent television broadcasts. The film was remade in Tamil as (2003) and in Kannada as (2005).</p>