Did you know that Telugu film industry is one of the biggest film industry in the world? And one of the biggest achievement of this industry is "The Nandi Awards". Films like Baahubali have challenged films like Avatar. This change has started influencing Indian filmmakers to stick to their culture.

Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is a part of the Indian cinema which produces motion pictures in the Telugu language, based in Film Nagar, a neighbourhood of Hyderabad, Telangana. Since 1909, filmmaker Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu was involved in producing short films and travelling to different regions in Asia to promote Telugu film work. In 1921, he produced the first Telugu silent movie, Bhishma Pratigna. He is also known as the father of Telugu cinema. The industry has won the Guinness World Record for the largest film production industry in the world. The Prasads IMAX situated in Hyderabad is one of the largest 3D IMAX screens, and the most attended cinema screen in the world. The industry holds a memorandum of understanding with the Motion Picture Association of America to fight against video piracy. 

The Nandi Awards is the biggest award ceremony for excellence in Telugu films, theatres, television and Lifetime achievements in Indian cinema annually by the Government of Andhra Pradesh. "Nandi" means "bull", the award is named after the big bull at Lepakshi— a cultural and historical symbol of the Telugus. Nandi Awards are awarded in four categories: Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Copper.  A variant, the Nandi Natakotsavam Awards for Theater, is given every year by the government for social, mythological and poetic dramas.

A State panel appointed by the government selects the winning entry and the award ceremony is held in Hyderabad, wherein the Chief Minister awards the winners. A list of rules is presented annually in a document of regulations. The eligibility criteria consist clauses. According to the criteria, in order to be eligible for consideration of the jury, a film should be certified by the Central Board of Film Certification between January 1 and December 31. There is a strict criterion which is being scrutinized by the government as to whether a film is eligible for consideration by the jury panels. Also, there is a direct requirement for the makers of a film, and particularly the films entering the competition that they should be produced in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. 


The State Government commissioned the Nandi Film Awards award and appreciates the best films produced in the Telugu language in Andhra Pradesh from the year 1964. The aim of the film awards is to encourage the production of movies with high technical brilliance and aesthetic values that are of cultural, educational and social relevance. Awards are presented annually at a public event in the Telugu New year. Since 1998, the Government has transferred the activity to confer the Nandi Awards to the Film, Television and Theatre Development Corporation.

The Awards are given in the group of feature films, feature films on national integration, children’s movies, documentary movies, educational movies and books/articles on Telugu cinema in the Telugu language for the best films, producers, directors, artists and technicians. The Nandi award categories are given with the medals, cash prizes and commendation certificates.

Films like Dookudu, Attarintiki Daredi and Race Gurram have each earned more than a 100 crore. (The two parts Baahubali: The Beginning (2015) premiered at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival, and Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017) premiered at the British Film Institute, became the highest earning Indian multilingual film franchise of all time globally with cumulative box office earnings of approximately 2,000 crores. The first part of the film got nominated for Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film by the American Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films which is one of the biggest achievements any industry in India can have.