The film released on 19 December 2008 and was average at the box office. However, the film won three Nandi Awards and eventually gained cult status. The movie was dubbed in Hindi as Ek Aur Vinashak (2009)[3]
Plot
Ravikumar works as an assistant director for director Idly Viswanath in the Telugu film industry. During the shooting, Ravi meets Sandhya, a group dancer. Sandhya's sister Surekha marries Rambabu, who harasses her only to exploit Sandhya. Ravi narrates an interesting story to producer Shankar, but the latter is not ready to take the risk with a debutant director like Ravi.
Meanwhile, a rich goon Yadu, who usurps prime lands, casts his eyes on Sandhya, and Rambabu tries to make use of this in his favor. At this juncture, Ravi narrates the story to hero Mallik, who also expresses his doubts regarding its feasibility. When Ravi pleads for a chance, he agrees for a trial shoot, and they seek the help of Sandhya and other friends. Popular director V. V. Vinayak asks Ravi for a heroine. Having seen Sandhya's performance in the trial shoot, he books her.
When Sandhya becomes a heroine, Rambabu ignores Yadu. Mallik, impressed with the trial shoot, convinces Shankar. Shankar had suffered much loss due to Vishwanath's film. The film shooting begins with Mallik as the hero and Sandhya as the heroine. At this time, an item dancer Mumaith, who had an affair with Mallik, attempts suicide and is raped. This and the paucity of funds puts the project in trouble. Yadu comes forward to finance the project. Once the shooting is over, Ravi finds his name missing in the titles. Eventually, he teaches Yadu a lesson and replaces the name.
Jeevi of Idlebrain.com wrote that "Overall, Neninthe is more like a personal film made from Puri Jagan’s personal experiences".[6] A critic from The Times of India wrote that "Director Puri Jagannath widely covers the opinions of the film fraternity including fans but somewhere lost his way in churning out a money-spinner".[7]
