Tanikella Bharani

Tanikella Bharani born 14 July 1954 is an Indian actor screenwriter poet playwright and director who primarily works in Telugu cinema with appearances in Tamil and Hindi films He began his career as a stage actor and playwright in the mid1970s before entering the film industry Bharani made his film debut as a dialogue writer for Kanchu Kavacham 1984 He wrote dialogues for films including Ladies Tailor 1985 Sri Kanaka Mahalakshmi Recording Dance Troupe 1987 and Ram Gopal Varmas gangster drama Shiva 1989 in which he also played Nanaji He later appeared in villainous comedic and supporting roles He won the Nandi Award for Best Villain for Samudram 1999 and the Nandi Award for Best Character Actor for Nuvvu Nenu 2001 Bharani has acted in more than 750 films and has written books plays and devotional songs dedicated to Lord Shiva He made his directorial debut with the Telugu drama Mithunam 2012 starring S P Balasubrahmanyam and Lakshmi and received the CineMAA Special Jury Award for Best Direction He played the priest Swamyji in S S Rajamoulis Baahubali The Beginning 2015 and Baahubali 2 The Conclusion 2017 His Tamil film roles include appearances in Ghilli 2004 and Vaathi 2023 His 2024 releases include the political thriller Prathinidhi 2 the action film Bhaje Vaayu Vegam Harish Shankars Mr Bachchan the thriller Kalinga and Nindha His 2025 credits include Krish Jagarlamudis period film Hari Hara Veera Mallu Mohan Krishna Indragantis comedy Sarangapani Jathakam Kishkindhapuri and Mani Ratnams Tamil actiondrama Thug Life He has received three Nandi Awards and the Sahitya Puraskar for his literary work