HIT 3 star Nani on Shivarajkumar: We didn’t have a personal connect earlier, but…

Telugu cinema’s Natural Star Nani has been quite taken in by the love, affection and support that Century Star Shivarajkumar has been showering him with. Unlike Sudeep, with whom Nani has a long-standing relationship on account of having worked together in Eega (2012), the Natural Star has no such connect with Bhairathi Ranagal star Shivarajkumar. And yet, namma Shivanna has been going out of his way to make his support for Nani known to the world.

Nani: Shivanna made me feel like family

“We didn’t have any personal connect before but he himself called when he heard that I was coming to Bengaluru. He called me home for breakfast and made me feel like family. I love him and he speaks to me on the phone whenever he sees my films. Every time I go to his home there is so much of love,” said Nani on the Saregama Kannada special interview for HIT 3.

In fact, during both Hi Nanna and Saripodhaa Sanivaaram, after watching the films, Shivanna had spoken to the media about what he thought of the movies. Meanwhile, Nani is hopeful of catching up with Shivanna in Hyderabad, since the Kannada actor is doing a pivotal role in Ram Charan’s Peddi. Before that, though, Nani is looking forward to meeting Shivanna again, when the former comes to Bengaluru to promote HIT 3.

Directed by Sailesh Kolanu, HIT 3, as the name suggests, is the third instalment in the franchise and has Nani’s cop avatar Arjun Sarkaar as the protagonist. There have been reports that the major highlight of the film is that Nani plays the antagonist as well, but that will be revealed only when the film hits theatres on May 1, 2025. Nani is paired with KGF fame Srinidhi Shetty, for whom the film marks her Telugu film debut and is her first release since 2022’s Vikram-starrer Cobra.