Akhil Akkineni | |
|---|---|
 Akkineni in 2017 | |
| Born | (1994-04-08)8 April 1994 (age 31)[1] San Jose,California, United States |
| Alma mater | University of South Florida |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2015–present |
| Spouse | |
| Parents | |
| Relatives | Naga Chaitanya (half-brother) |
| Family | SeeDaggubati–Akkineni family |
Akhil Akkineni (born 8 April 1994) is anIndian actor known for his work inTelugu cinema. He debuted as a child artist in the filmSisindri (1994), for which he won aFilmfare Special Award.
Akkineni made his debut as a lead actor withAkhil (2015), which won him theFilmfare Best Male Debut. He later went on to star inHello (2017) andMr. Majnu (2019). He achieved his commercial breakthrough with the romantic comedyMost Eligible Bachelor (2021). Akkineni is the son of Indian actorsNagarjuna andAmala.
Akkineni was born on 8 April 1994, inSan Jose,California,United States,[1][2] to actorsNagarjuna andAmala. He is ofTelugu descent from his father's side, and hasBengali andIrish ancestry from his mother's side.[3] He is the grandson of actorAkkineni Nageswara Rao, and half-brother ofNaga Chaitanya.
Akkineni studied at Chaitanya Vidyalaya and later headed to Australia for two years. He returned to complete his studies atOakridge International School,Hyderabad. He pursued acting as a career at age 16 and enrolled in an acting course at theLee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York.[4] He also holds aBBA from theUniversity of South Florida.[5]
Later in his teens, he pursuedcricket and became a member in his father's Nag Kings team, in the 2010 celebrity Tollywood Trophy, which was a fundraiser for theMovie Artistes' Association. His match-winning half-century in the final againstVenkatesh's Venky Warriors, saw him secure the man-of-the-match and man-of-the-series awards.[6] His performance saw him get called up to play for the Telugu Warriors in the inauguralCelebrity Cricket League (CCL) in 2011. Since then he has regularly participated in the CCL tournament, winning the2016 edition as captain of his team.[7]
As an infant, Akkineni debuted in his father's production,Shiva Nageswara Rao's comedy,Sisindri (1995), an Indian adaptation ofBaby's Day Out (1994).[8]
In 2014, Akkineni appeared in acameo appearance in the family drama,Manam (2014), directed byVikram Kumar. It featured three generations of actors from theAkkineni family. His cameo in the climax of the film was an instant rage with the audience.[9] He described his shoot for the film alongside his grandfather, father and half-brother, as "nervous and exciting".[10]Manam went on to become one of the most profitable Telugu films of 2014, whilst also considered to be one of the greatest Telugu films of all-time. Critics dubbed the film a "classic" en-route to it winning several awards, includingBest Film at theFilmfare Awards.[11][12] He subsequently went on to make appearances in several commercials, notably forKarbonn,Mountain Dew, andTitan.[13]
Akkineni's debut film, as a full-fledged lead, was inAkhil (2015), directed byV. V. Vinayak. It was produced byNithiin and his family.[14] In order to prepare for the role, he enrolled in a stunt workshop with his personal trainer, Kicha, and attended workshops inThailand, for two months.[4] The film began production in December 2014 and featured him alongside fellow debutante,Sayesha Saigal.[15] The film opened to a mixed response, and despite high expectations, it was a flop at the box-office. Following this, he went on a two-year hiatus.
In 2017, his second film,Hello (2017), directed by Vikram Kumar, was released along withMiddle Class Abbayi and turned out to be a below-average grosser at the box-office, despite garnering generally positive reviews.[16] Following that, Akkineni's third film wasMr. Majnu (2019), directed byVenky Atluri and co-starringNiddhi Agerwal.[17] Despite a great pre-release buzz and successful album, it opened to mixed reviews upon release. It eventually bombed commercially, becoming Akkineni's third consecutive failure.
In October 2021, his fourth film, therom com,Most Eligible Bachelor was released. It co-starredPooja Hegde and was directed byBommarillu andParugu fame,Bhaskar. It was produced byBunny Vas andVasu Varma, underGA2.[18] It became a hit and gave Akkineni a long-awaited box office success.[19]
Akkineni's next film,Agent, directed bySurender Reddy and produced byAnil Sunkara, released on 28 April 2023. It was made on a huge budget of 80 crores. Upon release, it received highly negative reviews from both the critics and audience, alike. It had an extremely low opening and was a commercial disaster.[20]
In 2016, Akkineni was engaged to Shriya Bhupal, grand-daughter of the business tycoon,G. V. Krishna Reddy. Their wedding was planned for 2017. However, it was later called off for undisclosed reasons.[21][22]
He got engaged toMumbai-based artist Zainab Ravdjee, the daughter of industrialist Zulfi Ravdjee, on 26 November 2024.[23][24] The couple tied the knot on 6 June 2025, in a traditional Telugu wedding ceremony held inHyderabad.[25]
| † | Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role(s) | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Sisindri | Sisindri | Child artist | [8] |
| 2014 | Manam | Akhil | Cameo appearance | [26] |
| 2015 | Akhil | Debut as adult lead actor | [14] | |
| 2016 | Aatadukundam Raa | Himself | Special appearance in title song | [27] |
| 2017 | Hello | Avinash / Seenu | Also singer for "Yevevo" | [28] |
| 2019 | Mr. Majnu | Vikram "Vicky" Krishna | [17] | |
| 2021 | Most Eligible Bachelor | Harsha | [18] | |
| 2023 | Agent | Ramakrishna "Ricky" / "Wild Saala" | ||
| 2026 | Lenin† | TBA | Pre-Production | [29] |
| ||||||||
| Totals[a] | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wins | 6 | |||||||
| Nominations | 6 | |||||||
Note
| ||||||||
| Year | Award | Category | Film | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 43rd Filmfare Awards South | Special Award (Child actor) | Sisindri | Won | [30] |
| 2016 | 63rd Filmfare Awards South | Best Male Debut – South | Akhil | Won | [31] |
| 5th South Indian International Movie Awards | Best Male Debut – Telugu | Won | [32] | ||
| CineMAA Awards 2016 | Best Male Debut | Won | [33] | ||
| 14th Santosham Film Awards | Best Debut Actor | Won | [34] | ||
| 2019 | TSR –TV9 National Film Awards | Special Jury Award | Hello | Won | [35] |
Akhil was born in the U.S.
