Naga Chaitanya Akkineni is one of the most popular actors in the Telugu film industry.

Chaitanya was brought up in Chennai. He studied at Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan, Chennai, and AMM School, Chennai, and graduated from St. Mary's College, Hyderabad.

He toldNagarjuna Akkineni, his father, about his passion for acting during his second year in college.

Chaitanya made his acting debut withJosh (2009), and his breakthrough came withYe Maaya Chesave (2010). In his initial years, he appeared in successful films, including100% Love (2011),Tadakha (2013), andManam (2014), along with several other films.

Chaitanya starred in the romantic comedyOka Laila Kosam (2014), which was highly appreciated and well-received by the audience and critics. He also ventured into action-drama thrillers likeDohchay (2015), whichSudheer Varma directed. He was cast in another bilingual romantic movieSaahasam Swaasaga Saagipo (2016) in 2016.

Chaitanya is known for his notable work in films such asAutonagar Surya (2014), andPremam (2016). In 2017, he had two releases,Rarandoi Veduka Chudham (2017) andYuddham Sharanam (2017).

In 2018, he played the role of his grandfather,Akkineni Nageswara Rao, in the biopicMahanati (2018), which was a massive hit. In the same year, he appeared inSailaja Reddy Alludu (2018), which proved to be a great festive release. After a couple of months, he performed the role of an ambidextrous man in the thrillerSavyasachi (2018) which Chandoo Mondeti directed.

Akkineni'sMajili (2019) became the highest-grossing film in Chaitanya's career. Majili was the fourth movie he starred in with his then-wifeSamantha Ruth Prabhu, and this movie also made the record of being the highest-grossing movie in his career with Rs. 740 million in 2020.

His other movies,Venky Mama (2019) andLove Story (2021) did well at the box office. In Venky Mam, he starred along with Venkatesh, his maternal uncle.

Chaitanya made his Hindi film debut in 2022 withLaal Singh Chaddha (2022) and appeared in a bilingual film,Custody (2023), which marks his Tamil debut.

Bangarraju (2022) is the sequel to the super hit movieSoggade Chinni Nayana (2016), the second collaboration ofNagarjuna Akkineni and Chaitanya after the Telugu classic movieManam (2014).

Chaitanya won the Filmfare Award South and CineMAA Awards for Best Male Debut in 2009 for the filmJosh (2009).

He has won several film awards, including Filmfare Awards for Best Male Debut - South, Nandi Award for Best Supporting Actor, and SIIMA Award for Best Actor (Critics) for the movie Manam. His list of other awards feature - the South Scope Cinema Awards as Rising Star of the South for the movieYe Maaya Chesave (2010), TSR - TV9 National Film Awards as Special Appreciation Award, 15th Santosham Film Awards as Best Actor for Premam, TSR - TV9 National Film Awards as Special Jury Award for the movieSailaja Reddy Alludu (2018).