Nagarjuna Akkineni

Biography

Known nationwide for his critically acclaimed performances in biographical and historical films, Nagarjuna Akkineni is a Telugu actor and producer who has been honored with multiple National Awards, Nandi Awards, and Filmfare Awards (South). 

The son of yesteryear Tollywood legend Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Nagarjuna`s career spans well over three decades, in the course of which he has appeared in over a hundred films, besides producing several. 

Some of Nagarjuna`s most memorable performances have come in movies like Gitanjali (1989), Ninne Pelladatha (1996), Annamayya (1997), Azad (2000), Santosham (2002) and more recently, Oopiri (2016). Besides these, he has also appeared in a handful of Bollywood films.

At the Delhi Film Festival`s 100 Years of Indian Cinema celebration, in 2013, Nagarjuna was chosen to represent the `Cinema of South India` section. The actor ventured into film production with Annapurna Studios, which he started with his brother Venkat Akkineni.

Amidst this, he played Raman Desai in Mahesh Bhatt`s Hindi drama film Zakhm. Co-starring Ajay Devgn, Pooja Bhatt, and Sonali Bendre, the movie bagged the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration. Returning to Telugu cinema, he appeared in movies like Ravoyi Chandamama (1999), Azad (2000), Bava Nachadu (2001), Santosham (2002), Boss - I Love You (2006), Greeku Veerudu (2013), Sri Jagadguru Aadi Sankara (2013), Manam (2014), and Soggade Chinni Nayana.

In 2016, Nagarjuna essayed the role of a quadriplegic in the comedy-drama Oopiri, which was a remake of the 2011 French film The Intouchables. The film opened to critical acclaim and was declared a box office hit, with praises pouring in from all quarters for the actor`s nuanced performance. 

The biographical drama Om Namo Venkatesaya (2017) and the horror comedy Raju Gari Gadhi 2 (2017) followed in the next year, though neither of them managed to make a major impact at the box office despite the mixed to positive critical response. In 2018, Nagarjuna reunited with Ram Gopal Varma for the action crime film Officer, which proved to be a disappointment both critically and commercially. 

Among the actor`s other recent projects is the multi-starrer Deva Daasu (2018), where he starred alongside Nani. Besides these, he also produced movies like Rangula Ratnam and Chi La Sow in 2018. His 2019 releases include Manmadhudu 2.