Nagarjuna Akkineni is an Indian actor, producer, television presenter, and entrepreneur working primarily in the Telugu cinema, born on August 29, 1959, in Chennai. Nagarjuna grew up in a legendary film family. His father, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, is a celebrated actor. He holds a degree in mechanical engineering from Eastern Michigan University located in the United States. Nagarjuna was a child actor in the 1967 film ‘Sudigundalu’. Years later,
He made his adult acting debut in ‘Vikram’ (1986), the successful remake of the Hindi film ‘Hero’. In 1989, he had a breakthrough with Mani Ratnam’s ‘Geethanjali’, a romantic drama. The film won a National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. The film that followed made him a superstar. It was the debut of director Ram Gopal Varma’s trendsetting film ‘Siva’, a crime action movie. In 1990, Nagarjuna remade the film in his Bollywood debut in ‘Shiva’. Other acclaimed roles are: ‘Majnu’ (1987), blockbuster ‘Annamayya’ (1997) with Special Mention Actor/45th National Film Awards, ‘LOC: Kargil’ (Hindi/2003), ‘Sri Ramadasu’ (2006) Nandi Awards Best Actor, ‘Shirdi Sai’ (2012), and ‘Jagadguru Adi Shankara’ (2013). More recent films include: ‘Wild Dog’ (2021), ‘Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva’ (Hindi/2022), ‘Naa Saami Ranga’ (2024), ‘Kuberaa’ (2025), and ‘Coolie’ (Tamil/2025). His landmark 100th film, titled King 100, has been officially announced as a blend of action, emotion, and family drama. Nagarjuna co-owns Annapurna Studios and heads Annapurna College of Film and Media in Hyderabad. He also runs the Blue Cross of Hyderabad for animal welfare and participates in HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns. His first marriage to Lakshmi Daggubati produced a son, Naga Chaitanya, a successful Telugu actor. His second marriage to Amala Mukherjee in 1992, produced another son, actor Akkil Akkineni.
