Debut and early success (2002-2004) Nithiin started his career with
Jayam in 2002, directed by
Teja. Teja saw him at Sudarshan 35 mm theatre at a screening of his
Nuvvu Nenu, on two occasions. He then enquired him about his acting interest and did a screen test and photo session, after which, he selected him as the lead for
Jayam, Following the blockbuster success of his debut, he then acted in the action comedy,
Dil, directed by
V. V. Vinayak and produced by
Dil Raju, in his production debut. Like
Jayam, it went to become a big blockbuster, becoming the third-highest grossing Telugu film of the year, after
Simhadri and
Okkadu. Later in the same year, he acted in
Sambaram, directed by
K. Dasaradh, written and produced by Teja. In 2004, Nithiin starred in
Sri Anjaneyam, directed by
Krishna Vamsi, where he played the role as a devotee of
Lord Hanuman. This was also the first film where Nithiin dubbed for his dialogues, who until then was voiced by
Sivaji.
Consecutive failures (2005-2011) Following his 2004 film
Sye, directed by
S. S. Rajamouli, Nithin appeared in a number of films, some of which are
Dhairyam,
Agyaat (his only
Hindi film till date, which was directed by
Ram Gopal Varma, was simultaneously dubbed in Telugu as
Adavi) and
Seeta Ramula Kalyanam. However, none of these films were commercially successful. Nithiin also has the distinction of most consecutive flops (12) by any actor in
Telugu cinema. He tasted success after many years with 2012
Vikram Kumar-directed
romantic drama film
Ishq.
Comeback and stardom (2012-2016) In
Ishq, Nithiin paired opposite
Nithya Menen, which was also co-produced by his father Sudhakar Reddy. He acted in the film
Gunde Jaari Gallanthayyinde in 2013.
Isha Talwar and
Nithya Menen played the lead roles along with Nithiin. Later, he acted in
Chinnadana Nee Kosam, a film written and directed by
A. Karunakaran in 2014, also produced by N. Sudhakar Reddy and sister Nikhita Reddy under their home banner Sreshth Movies. Later the year, he played the lead in
Heart Attack, directed by
Puri Jagannadh. He made the role of a
hippie and the movie got a mixed reviews. He acted in the role of a courier boy in the movie
Courier Boy Kalyan, released in 2015, directed by Premsai and produced by
Gautham Vasudev Menon. Nithiin acted in the film
A Aa (2016), written and directed by
Trivikram Srinivas, opposite
Samantha Ruth Prabhu and
Anupama Parameswaran. The film became the biggest grosser in Nithin's career.
Career expansion and fluctuations (2017−present) In 2017, Nithiin acted in the film
LIE which was directed by
Hanu Raghavapudi. It garnered average reviews from critics and could not perform well at the
box office. In 2018, Nithiin's
Chal Mohan Ranga directed by
Krishna Chaitanya with co-star
Megha Akash. The film performed poorly at the box office. Later the year, he starred in
Srinivasa Kalyanam opposite
Raashi Khanna and directed by
Satish Vegesna. His 2020 film
Bheeshma, directed by
Venky Kudumula and starring alongside
Rashmika Mandanna was a commercial success. Nithiin collaborated with director
Chandra Sekhar Yeleti for
Check (2021), co-starring
Rakul Preet Singh and Priya Prakash Varrier. His second release of the year was
Rang De, directed by
Venky Atluri and starred alongside
Keerthy Suresh. His third release of the year was the
black comedy crime thriller Maestro which had a
direct-to-streaming release on
Disney+ Hotstar on 17 September 2021. He played the role of a
pianist, with critics praising his performance in the film. In September 2021, he started filming was for his next film
Macherla Niyojakavargam. It was released in August 2022 to negative reviews, and surfaced as a box-office bomb. In 2023, Nithiin starred in
Extra Ordinary Man. Both his 2025 films,
Robinhood, and
Thammudu, became box office failures. ==Personal life==