From an uncredited extra in a Ranveer Singh ad to Rs 100 cr superstar: Naveen Polishetty’s ‘brutal’ journey from Bollywood to Telugu cinema | Telugu News
5 min readHyderabadFeb 25, 2026 09:00 PM IST There is a Ranveer Singh advertisement somewhere on the internet where, if you look closely enough, you will spot a young man sitting in the background clicking photographs. He was barely visible, his appearance was uncredited, and was paid a small fee for the job. That was Naveen Polishetty’s first paycheck as a performer in Mumbai. Years later, Ranveer Singh stood on a stage and handed that same man a Best Actor Award for Jathi Ratnalu, and Naveen told him the story that night. The actor recently delivered his first Rs 100 crore hit. At a recent town hall interview with an engineering student, Naveen connected those two dots himself, and everything in between. From nearly sleeping at a railway station in Mumbai to crossing Rs 100 crore mark at the box office during one of the toughest Sankranti seasons Telugu cinema has seen, he has had quite a journey. Naveen’s path to Telugu cinema went the other way round. While most successful Telugu actors eventually migrate …
