Hi Nanna

Hi Nanna (released internationally as Hi Dad) is a 2023 Indian Telugu-language romantic drama film directed by Shouryuv, in his directoral debut, and produced by Vyra Entertainments. The film stars Nani and Mrunal Thakur in lead roles.

The film was officially announced in January 2023 under the tentative title Nani 30, as it is Nani's 30th film as the lead actor, and the official title was announced in July 2023. Principal photography commenced in February 2023. It was shot sporadically in several legs, with filming locations including Mumbai, Hyderabad, Coonoor, and wrapped by late-September 2023. The film has music composed by Hesham Abdul Wahab, cinematography handled by Sanu Varghese and editing by Praveen Anthony.

Hi Nanna was released on 7 December 2023, where it received positive reviews from critics and became a commercial success.

Plot
Six-year-old Mahi lives in Mumbai with her father, grandfather, and her pet dog, Pluto. Mahi suffers from cystic fibrosis, and her single father, Viraj, leaves no stone unturned to dote on her and look after her health, while pursuing his career as a successful fashion photographer. However, whenever Mahi expresses her curiosity about her missing mother, Viraj evades the topic. Eventually, upset when her father refuses to keep his end of the promise to narrate her mother's story, Mahi runs away from home with Pluto.

Mahi and Pluto cross paths with a lady named Yashna, who saves them from a traffic collision. At Mahi's request, Yashna invites Viraj to a restaurant. There, Yashna and Mahi compel Viraj to reveal the story about the little girl's mother, "Varsha". To help Mahi relate to her father's narrative, Yashna suggests the child imagine her as Varsha.

Viraj reluctantly recounts the story of Varsha- ten years ago, Viraj, a struggling photographer, met Varsha in Coonoor and fell in love with her at first sight. Varsha was initially reluctant because her parents' recent divorce caused her to lose faith in love, marriage, and family. However, she gradually reciprocated Viraj's feelings. Varsha's mother disapproved of the relationship due to Viraj's low financial status. Nevertheless, Varsha married Viraj, and the couple had a happy marriage despite the hardships. Eventually, Viraj and his friend, Justin, opened their own studio, becoming commercially successful photographers.

Three years after their wedding, Viraj revealed his intention to have children. Varsha was initially reluctant, but she changed her mind and agreed to conceive after Viraj's assurance. However, upon learning that Mahi was born with a fatal health condition, Varsha was devastated. She blamed Viraj and regretted ever falling in love with him and conceiving Mahi.

In the present, an upset Mahi stops her father from continuing the narration. Moreover, Viraj's story inexplicably resonates with Yashna, moving her to tears. She approaches Viraj in private and requests that he conclude the story. Viraj reveals that he and his wife met in an accident that night, mere moments after the latter expressed her regrets.

In a dramatic twist, it is revealed that Yashna and "Varsha" are the same person, and she is indeed Mahi's biological mother, who developed post-traumatic amnesia after surviving the accident and lost memories of her marriage, motherhood, and her parents' divorce. Yashna's mother ordered Viraj to disappear from her life, claiming that Yashna wanted a divorce before the accident. Viraj blamed himself for Yashna's tragedy and promised his mother-in-law that he would never see her again.

When Mahi ran away from home, Pluto recognized Yashna after all these years, which led to their chance encounter. Viraj renamed Yashna "Varsha" while recounting the story at the restaurant, to prevent Yashna and Mahi from discovering the truth. Still haunted by the past, Viraj becomes worried when Yashna is strangely drawn towards Mahi. He decides to keep Mahi and Yashna away, fearing that they wouldn't be able to cope with the truth. Viraj learns that Yashna is about to marry her fiancée, Dr. Arvind Bhatia, the neurosurgeon who treated Yashna after the accident, within a week. Under the pretext of a photoshoot, Viraj and Justin take Mahi and Pluto to Goa and plan to stay there until Yashna is married, to ensure that they will never meet the latter again. However, Mahi secretly contacts Yashna, who arrives in Goa to throw a surprise birthday party for the girl.

Yashna spends the next few days with Mahi. Even without her memories, Yashna finds herself yearning for Viraj and Mahi. At many instances, she finds herself immersing in the character of "Varsha". Eventually, Yashna realizes that she has fallen in love with Viraj and confesses her feelings for him. However, the moment is interrupted when Yashna learns that Aravind suddenly changed the wedding venue to Goa. On the day of the wedding, Mahi attempts to visit Yashna, but is intercepted by her grandmother (Yashna's mother), who bluntly reveals the truth to Mahi, thus shocking the girl. Later, Yashna follows Pluto, who takes her to meet Viraj and Mahi. Yashna reveals that she is prepared to leave everything to be with Mahi and Viraj if the latter accepts her love. However, Viraj and Mahi turn down Yashna, leaving her heartbroken. Before leaving, Viraj enters the wedding and makes a scathing remark to Yashna's mother for bluntly revealing the truth he kept from Mahi.

As they leave Goa, Mahi has a sudden respiratory failure, and Viraj admits her to the hospital. Meanwhile, Mahi's grandfather arrives at Yashna's wedding venue. It is revealed that Mahi's grandfather is Yashna's estranged father and Viraj's father-in-law. Yashna's father advises her not to flee from her problems like "Varsha" did and urges her to fight for her love. He reveals Mahi's critical condition to Yashna. When Aravind argues that "Varsha" suffered because of Viraj, Yashna retorts that Viraj also suffered greatly and reveals that she never asked for a divorce before correcting herself that it is inconsistent with the story of "Varsha.". Aravind consents to Yashna to go to Viraj. Aravind confirms that Yashna's mother lied to Viraj about her daughter's request for a divorce.

Later, Yashna's father criticises his ex-wife's actions for attempting to control their daughter's life. It is revealed that after Yashna's accident, her father was touched by Viraj's determination and moved in with his son-in-law to help him raise Mahi. Yashna's father elaborates that Viraj's struggles for the sake of Mahi and her condition. For Yashna's sake, Viraj chose to forget about her and move on. However, even after losing her memories, Yashna still fell in love with Viraj for the second time, indicating that they are fated to be together. Meanwhile, Yashna rushes to the hospital to support a distressed Viraj. Unexpectedly, Aravind, his brother, and his friends arrive at the hospital, revealing themselves to be eminent doctors. They volunteer to perform the operation to save Mahi. Before the operation, Yashna tells Mahi that she wants to live with them and promises to teach the girl a song. As they wait anxiously, Yashna tells Viraj how she wishes she could romance him in Coonoor and be Mahi's biological mother instead of "Varsha", contrary to how she regretted before the accident, unaware of the truth that "Varsha" is her past self before her amnesia. Mahi smiles as she watches her parents together for the first time.

The movie ends with a grown-up Mahi on the stage, singing the song taught by her mother, Yashna.

Development
On January 1, 2023, Vyra Entertainment announced their maiden production film, with Nani and Mrunal Thakur as cast and debut director Shouryuv, music and background score composer Hesham Abdul Wahab, cinematographer Sanu Varghese, editor Praveen Anthony, and art director Jothish Shankar as crew. It was tentatively titled Nani 30. The film marks Thakur's second Telugu film after Sita Ramam (2022). In late March, Angad Bedi was announced as being a part of the cast in his debut Telugu film. In late April, it was reported that Shruti Haasan was going to be a part of the cast. On July 13 July, the title Hi Nanna was revealed. Nani reportedly received inr 220000000 as remuneration.

Filming
Principal photography began in February 2023, with the first schedule in Hyderabad. The second schedule commenced in Mumbai. The schedule was concluded by May 31. The third schedule was filmed in Ramoji Film City. Thakur wrapped up her portions for the schedule by July 27. The fourth schedule commenced on September 2 September in Coonoor. The schedule reportedly featured a song sequence.

Music
The music and background score is composed by Hesham Abdul Wahab in his maiden collaboration with Shouryuv and Nani. The audio rights were acquired by T-Series. The tracks "Samayama", "Gaaju Bomma", "Ammadi", "Odiyamma," and "Idhe Idhe" were released as singles before the full 10-song album on 18 December 2023. Wahab re-recorded the film's background score using artificial intelligence thereby becoming the first Indian film to do so.

Theatrical
Hi Nanna had a worldwide theatrical release on 7 December 2023, along with dubbed versions in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi. The film was initially scheduled to release on 21December 2023, but was later moved to 7 December 2023 in order to avoid clash with Salaar and Dunki.

Home media
The digital streaming and satellite rights of the film were sold for inr 370000000 to Netflix. The film was made available on Netflix on January 2024 in Telugu, along with dubbed versions of Tamil, Hindi (Hi Papa), Kannada and Malayalam.

Critical response
Paul Nicodemus of The Times of India gave it 3.5/5 stars and wrote, "Hi Nanna is a must-watch for those seeking a blend of heart and soul in cinema." Raghu Bandi of The Indian Express gave it 3/5 stars and wrote "Nani and Mrunal Thakur star in a high-emotion drama that will remind you of actor's Jersey."

Neeshitha Nyayapati of Hindustan Times wrote, "Shouryuv’s debut film is an emotional drama that’ll tug at your heart, both with its performances and storyline." Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu wrote, "Shouryuv’s drama is a breather amid larger-than-life action entertainers." Ram Venkat Srikar of Film Companion wrote "Hi Nanna makes up for its weaker parts with some super strong emotional moments and even after not being convinced with it in certain aspects, it's a story that's largely satisfying on the emotional level."