Nani & Samantha Akkineni Movies Together List — 4 Films

The shape of the work

Nani acted in every film; Samantha Akkineni acted in all of them. Mostly Telugu, with 1 film in Tamil.

Partnership facts

• Nani and Samantha first worked together in 'Naan Ee' (2012) — but they didn't share a single scene. Samantha voiced the female lead in the Telugu dub of the Tamil original. Their first actual on-screen pairing came later that same year in 'Yeto Vellipoyindhi Manasu'.
• In 'Yeto Vellipoyindhi Manasu' (2012), Nani and Samantha played a couple whose relationship falls apart over time. Director Gautham Menon made them rehearse the breakup scenes for two weeks before shooting — and both actors later said the emotional exhaustion from those rehearsals made the final takes feel painfully real.
• During the making of 'Eega' (2012), Nani and Samantha developed a running joke: Nani would complain that he was acting opposite a fly, while Samantha would tease him that the fly had more screen presence. They kept the gag alive through the entire shoot.
• The success of 'Eega' (2012) — where Nani played the human love interest and Samantha the leading lady — directly led to the Tamil and Hindi dubbed versions ('Naan Ee' and 'Makkhi') becoming sleeper hits. Those dubbed releases introduced both actors to audiences outside Telugu cinema for the first time.
• Samantha once said in an interview: 'Nani is the only co-star who made me laugh so hard during a romantic scene that the director had to cut. He'd do these silly improvised lines between takes, and I'd lose it.'
• Nani and Samantha were cast in 'Yeto Vellipoyindhi Manasu' (2012) because Gautham Menon wanted a fresh, young pair who looked like actual college students — not polished stars. Both were relatively new at the time, and Menon later said their real-life nervousness about the script helped sell the awkwardness of first love.