from The Hindu noting Siddharth's portrayal as "neat", while another reviewer noted that Siddharth "is cool and discovers his comic side with some great one-liners." Siddharth then ventured into Telugu films by signing on to appear in Prabhu Deva's first directorial project, the romantic drama Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana (2005) in which he was again paired alongside Trisha. Portraying the NRI youngster Santhosh, Siddharth revealed he worked hard to depict his character as "hyperactive, and unpredictable, to the point that the audience does not know what to expect from him" in order to differentiate the role from other NRI depictions in Indian films. He also was insistent that he dubbed for himself and learned the Telugu language during the making of the film. The film released in January 2005 to widespread critical acclaim, with several critics dubbing it a "must-see". A reviewer from Idlebrain.com noted Siddharth is "the surprise package" of the film, adding "he epitomized the essence of his character and won the hearts of audiences with his zest portrayal of mischievous yet lovable guy". Similarly Sify.com added "the surprise packet is Siddharth as the hyperactive, young man and he is just a riot". The film consequently went on to become an all-time blockbuster in the Telugu film industry, and Siddharth became a much sought after actor in Telugu films. The film also dominated award ceremonies the following year, with his performance fetching him his first Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu for his portrayal of Santhosh. He then wrote the story and worked on the screenplay for his next release, the Telugu film Chukkallo Chandrudu (2006) directed by Sivakumar, also being credited as a playback singer for the first time. Described as a "sophisticated comedy film for multiplex crowds", it opened to mixed reviews with Siddharth's contribution described as a "redeeming factor", but failed at the box office. 2006–10: Career in Telugu and Hindi cinema The success of Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana saw Siddharth shift base to Hyderabad and pursue a career primarily in Telugu films, and was non-committal about taking up films in other languages. After rejecting an initial approach by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's team, he later agreed to work on the drama film Rang De Basanti (2006) after being impressed upon reading the film's script. He was further attracted to the offer through the opportunity of working with Aamir Khan as well as by the film's ensemble cast of