Shivani Nagaram never really left where she came from. Four films in, she doesn’t intend to.

HOMEGROWN | NATIVE

Before the films, before YouTube, before any of it, there was her grandmother’s house. Ammamma’s place in the heart of old Hyderabad, surrounded by classical singers and Kuchipudi dancers, the sounds of the sitar and gajjalu filling every room, is where Shivani Nagaram grew up. “Music is not just a form of art for us,” she says. “It’s healing. It keeps us calm, connected to the arts, connected to God and connected to ourselves.” Hyderabad was the only world her family knew. No village to go back to, no other home that counted. The city gave her everything, and she has never quite stopped being grateful for it.

Ammamma’s house was where the family gathered to listen to stories, play, eat, and simply be together. Her grandmother, mother, and aunt were all Carnatic classical singers and Kuchipudi dancers, and Shivani remembers the house as a space where art was not set apart from daily life. “The OG flavour of music for me comes from M.S. Subbulakshmi Garu’s classical singing,” she shares. “Those songs remind me of home, culture and childhood.”

The memories are inseparable from food. Bagara rice, chicken curry, and pachipulusu remain the flavours that take her straight back to her grandmother’s kitchen—dishes she describes as proper old Hyderabad and Telangana staples.

The parts that stayed unchanged she holds close. The parts that grew, she holds with equal pride. “The culture, the celebrations, every festival we celebrated here as family, cousins and friends, those are the moments I cherish. That part of Hyderabad hasn’t changed a bit. It has only become bigger and more vibrant.” Four films in, when she sees herself in the Hyderabad Times, she still remembers being the child who looked at those pages and thought, “Oh my God, she’s the heroine.” Now being there herself, she says, feels like the whole point.

There are still corners of the city that carry that original feeling for her: Hussain Sagar, Necklace Road, Tank Bund, the Old City, and the familiar stretch between Hyderabad and Secunderabad. The Financial District and newer parts of the city may have expanded, but she sees that change with affection. Growing up in a fast-moving city, she says, has made her more open to opportunities she never expected to receive.

ONE SCENE AT A TIME

Shivani’s entry into acting was accidental. YouTube came first, followed by a Geetha Arts Telugu debut. Ambajipeta Marriage Band became her breakthrough, while Little Hearts opened the door to her Tamil debut sooner than expected. “I wasn’t prepared,” she says. “It came earlier than expected.” She responded the only way she knew how: by preparing relentlessly.

She had not imagined acting would become her path. YouTube was where she first received the kind of audience response that made her consider it seriously. “I had barely done half a web series and yet I received so much appreciation,” she recalls. Moving from there into a Geetha Arts Telugu debut felt like both an opportunity and a responsibility. Today, the same platform that introduced audiences to her work continues to carry her films, interviews, and launches back to her family. Watching them watch her, she says, remains one of the happiest parts of the journey.

“I’m a very scared person,” she admits. “I’m a perfectionist. I don’t settle for less.” She spent weeks learning dialogues and understanding her character before stepping onto set. The same care shapes how she chooses scripts. “I love it when directors give every character some importance.”

For her Tamil debut, the language itself became the central challenge. She had never formally learned Tamil and initially found the prospect daunting. “More than the logistical side, it was definitely a creative challenge because of the language barrier,” she says. But the patience of the team, director, and co-stars made the transition easier. The first day on set, she recalls, was far smoother than the anxious build-up that came before it.

Her preparation comes from a sense of responsibility as much as perfectionism. “When an opportunity comes, I feel it’s my responsibility to value it and put in the effort,” she explains. “It doesn’t have to become a blockbuster. But when you put so much love, time and patience into something, it gives you back what it’s supposed to.”

She also approaches a story from two perspectives. First, she listens to the narration as an audience member. Only later does she read the script as an actor, looking beyond her own part to see whether every character has a purpose. She is drawn to films where even the smallest roles have an arc, because those details, she believes, push a story forward and make its world feel larger.

One gap remains. Four films in, none has used her decade of Kuchipudi training on screen. “I keep watching heroines dance in films and think, ‘God, give me one of those songs.’” For now, she’s content to wait. “I believe in timing. When it has to happen, it will happen.”

Dance, however, has already shaped the actor she is becoming. Kuchipudi taught her rhythm, posture, confidence, grace, and the importance of carrying an inner aura into a performance. Its influence is present in her abhinaya, expression, body language, and the way she thinks about a character—even when there is no song-and-dance sequence to show for it.

BEYOND THE CITY

Her first proper experience of Andhra Pradesh came with Ambajipeta Marriage Band. After a childhood framed by Hyderabad’s traffic lights, buildings, and constant movement, Amalapuram and Konaseema felt like another world: green, quiet, and slow. She remembers the waters, coconut trees, cows on the streets, and the earthy scent of the village as vividly as the warmth of the people.

“They welcome you with food,” she says, laughing about how much she ate during the shoot. The seafood remains especially memorable. One location has stayed close to her for another reason: the salon-shop set from Ambajipeta Marriage Band, which was retained after the filming ended. Returning to Amalapuram and seeing it still standing brought back the scenes, the people, and the significance of her first film.

Travel has since become its own form of learning. Kedarnath is the place she believes everyone should experience at least once. The visit came before her first film and before she entered the industry, after a spontaneous journey through Kasol and Bir. The 13-hour trek was difficult and unplanned, but the destination became something much larger for her. “It was an awakening for me,” she says. “The blessings, aura and energies of that place are something I carry with me even today.”

There is no single destination at the top of her list now. Instead, there are road trips, international journeys, and a growing wish to see more of the world. “The more you travel, the more you grow as a person, the more you experience and evolve,” she reflects.

SHIVANI’S PICKS

Places Close To Her Heart

Hussain Sagar, Necklace Road and Tank Bund: The Hyderabad that hasn’t changed
The Old City: culture, chaos, and everything in between
Kedarnath: A spontaneous trek that she calls an awakening.

Childhood On A Plate

Bagara rice, chicken curry, and pachipulusu: Telangana staples from her grandmother’s kitchen
Seafood in Konaseema: Discovered on her first film shoot, still unforgotten

GROUNDED, BY DESIGN

Off screen, Shivani is disarmingly straightforward. She cooks seriously, feeds people enthusiastically, and describes her personality as somewhere between introvert and extrovert, happiest in conversations about books, culture, and music. “My parents always taught me that no matter how much you achieve, staying grounded is important. Success can sometimes get into your head. The key is balance. Be yourself. Don’t take either the good or the bad too seriously. Live in the moment, enjoy everything, give your best and smile.” In an industry that rewards performance at all times, that is, quietly, its own kind of discipline.

Her personal style follows the same instinct. Away from shoots and promotions, she is happiest in oversized T-shirts, pyjamas, kurtas, or a simple T-shirt and jeans. Dressing up for work gives her confidence, but the rituals that matter most remain uncomplicated: skincare, haircare, enough sleep, and home-cooked food. “If you’re healthy and happy from within, it automatically reflects outside,” she says.

Cooking is more than an off-duty hobby. It is a way of caring for people. Shivani enjoys making both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, exploring new cuisines, and feeding anyone who happens to be around when she is home and not shooting. Baking, she says, may be the next thing she tries.

She is equally hopeful about the next generation of women entering Telugu cinema. Platforms such as YouTube and Instagram, she believes, have made artists more visible and made the industry feel less distant or intimidating than it once did. With more people willing to explore the arts and cinema, she sees the opportunities only increasing from here.