Naga Chaitanya’s Thandel Performance Wins Another Big Award at SIIMA 2026
However, Thandel appears to have become a special film in his career. His performance as Thandel Raju has brought him major recognition and a series of awards.
By: Priya Chowdhary Nuthalapti | 14 Sept 2026 1:32 PM IST
Naga Chaitanya has been part of the Telugu film industry for many years. During this journey, the actor has delivered several performances that received love and appreciation from audiences. Movies like Premam, Majili and Love Story showed different sides of his acting talent.
However, Thandel appears to have become a special film in his career. His performance as Thandel Raju has brought him major recognition and a series of awards. The latest achievement came at the South Indian International Movie Awards (SIIMA) 2026.
At SIIMA 2026 Day 2, Naga Chaitanya won the Best Actor in a Leading Role in Telugu award for Thandel. The award ceremony was held at Koramangala Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru. The win has added another important achievement to the actor’s journey.
Thandel was directed by Chandoo Mondeti and featured Sai Pallavi and Prakash Belawadi in important roles. The film presented Naga Chaitanya in a challenging character, and his performance as Raju became one of the major talking points among movie lovers.
For Chaitanya, this award is especially meaningful because Thandel gave him an opportunity to explore a different kind of role. With Thandel, it seems that everything has finally come together for the actor. The continuous recognition for his performance is a sign that his hard work is being noticed on a bigger platform.
Also, the actor is soon to be seen in Vrushakarma. It is an upcoming Telugu mythical thriller film starring Naga Chaitanya Akkineni and directed by Karthik Varma Dandu.