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Akhil Akkineni

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Akhil Akkineni
Akkineni in 2017
Born (1994-04-08) April 8, 1994 (age 30)[1]
San Jose, United States
Alma materUniversity of South Florida
OccupationActor
Years active2015–present
Parents
FamilySee Daggubati–Akkineni family

Akhil Akkineni (born April 8, 1994) is an American actor based in India, who works in Telugu cinema. Akhil was born in San Jose, California, and was raised in Hyderabad, India.[2][3] Akhil debuted as a child artist in the children's film Sisindri (1994), for which he won a Filmfare Special Award. He is also the captain of Telugu Warriors cricket team that competes in Celebrity Cricket League.

He made his debut as a lead actor with Akhil (2015), which won him the Filmfare Best Male Debut. He later went on to star in Hello (2017) and Mr. Majnu (2019). He achieved his commercial breakthrough with the romantic comedy Most Eligible Bachelor (2021). Akhil is the younger son of Indian actors Nagarjuna and Amala.

Early life

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Akhil Akkineni was born on April 8, 1994, in San Jose, California[1][3] to actors Nagarjuna and Amala. He is of Telugu descent from his father's side, and has Bengali and Irish ancestry from his mother's side.[4] He is the grandson of actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao, and half-brother of Naga Chaitanya.

Akkineni studied at Chaitanya Vidyalaya, later headed to Australia for two years. He returned to complete his studies at Oakridge International School, Hyderabad. He pursued acting as a career at age 16 and enrolled in an acting course at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York.[5] He also holds a BBA from the University of South Florida.[2]

Later in his teens, he pursued cricket and became a member in his father's Nag Kings team, in the 2010 celebrity Tollywood Trophy, which was a fundraiser for the Movie Artistes' Association. His match-winning half-century in the final against Venkatesh'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 inaugural Celebrity Cricket League (CCL) in 2011. Since then he has regularly participated in the CCL tournament, winning the 2016 edition as captain of his team.[7]

Career

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As an infant, Akhil debuted in his father's production, Shiva Nageswara Rao's comedy, Sisindri (1995), an Indian adaptation of Baby's Day Out (1994).[8]

In 2014, Akhil appeared in a brief cameo appearance in the much loved family drama, Manam (2014), directed by Vikram Kumar. It featured three generations of actors from the Akkineni 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, including Best Film at the Filmfare Awards.[11][12] He subsequently went on to make appearances in several commercials, notably for Karbonn, Mountain Dew, and Titan.[13]

Akkineni's debut film, as a full-fledged lead, was in Akhil (2015), directed by V. V. Vinayak. It was produced by Nithiin 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 in Thailand, for two months.[5] 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 with Middle Class Abbayi and turned out to be a below-average grosser at the box-office, despite garnering generally positive reviews.[16] Following that, Akhil's third film was Mr. Majnu (2019), directed by Venky Atluri and co-starring Niddhi Agerwal.[17] Despite a great pre-release buzz and successful album, it opened to mixed reviews upon release. It eventually bombed commercially, becoming Akhil's third consecutive failure.

In October 2021, his fourth film, the rom com, Most Eligible Bachelor was released. It co-starred Pooja Hegde and was directed by Bommarillu and Parugu fame, Bhaskar. It was produced by Bunny Vas and Vasu Varma, under GA2.[18] It became a hit and gave Akhil a long-awaited box office success.[19]

Akhil's next film, Agent, directed by Surender Reddy and produced by Anil Sunkara, released on April 28, 2023. It was made on a huge budget of 80 crores. However, 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]

Personal life

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In 2016, Akhil was engaged to Shriya Bhupal, grand-daughter of the business tycoon, G. V. Krishna Reddy. Their wedding was planned in 2017, however, it was later called-off, for undisclosed reasons.[21][22]

Filmography

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Key
† Denotes films that have not yet been released
List of films and roles
Year Title Role(s) Notes Ref.
1995 Sisindri Sisindri Child artist [8]
2014 Manam Akhil Cameo appearance [23]
2015 Akhil Debut as lead role [14]
2016 Aatadukundam Raa Himself Special appearance in title song [24]
2017 Hello Avinash / Seenu Also singer for "Yevevo" [25]
2019 Mr. Majnu Vikram "Vicky" Krishna [17]
2021 Most Eligible Bachelor Harsha [18]
2023 Agent Ramakrishna "Ricky" / "Wild Saala"
2024 Hastaara Vedavidhyam

Awards and nominations

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Akhil Akkineni awards and nominations
Totals[a]
Wins6
Nominations6
Note
  1. ^ Certain award groups do not simply award one winner. They recognize several different recipients, have runners-up, and have third place. Since this is a specific recognition and is different from losing an award, runner-up mentions are considered wins in this award tally. For simplification and to avoid errors, each award in this list has been presumed to have had a prior nomination.
List of awards and nominations
Year Award Category Film Result Ref.
1995 43rd Filmfare Awards South Special Award (Child actor) Sisindri Won [26]
2016 63rd Filmfare Awards South Best Male Debut – South Akhil Won [27]
5th South Indian International Movie Awards Best Male Debut – Telugu Won [28]
CineMAA Awards 2016 Best Male Debut Won [29]
14th Santosham Film Awards Best Debut Actor Won [30]
2019 TSR – TV9 National Film Awards Special Jury Award Hello Won [31]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Tollywood's rising stars under 30". The Times of India. October 29, 2018. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Hooli, Sekhar H. (February 17, 2015). "VV Vinayak Treats Akhil Akkineni Like Prince on Sets of his Debut Movie?". IB Times.
  3. ^ a b Vemuri Radhakrishna and Nagarjuna (July 24, 2019). Akkineni Nagarjuna Open Heart With RK Full Episode | Nagarjuna Reveals About Remake Of Gundamma Katha (in Telugu). ABN Andhra Jyothi. Akhil was born in the U.S.
  4. ^ "Amala Akkineni can't speak Bengali". The Times of India. January 14, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  5. ^ a b Sangeetha Devi Dundoo (November 15, 2015). "Akhil Akkineni: There's no guarantee for success". The Hindu.
  6. ^ "Nag Kings lift Tollywood trophy". The Hindu. June 14, 2010. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  7. ^ "Akhil to play in CCL matches". indiaglitz.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015.
  8. ^ a b "Mama's boy". The Hindu. December 5, 2009. ISSN 0971-751X.
  9. ^ Kamal, S. S (November 25, 2013). "Samantha's tweet has Nag fuming". Bangalore Mirror. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  10. ^ "Akhil Akkineni Interview, Akhil Akkineni interview about manam, Akhil Akkineni interview on manam I felt very nervous that day: Akhil Akkineni". timesofap.com. Archived from the original on September 5, 2019. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  11. ^ "Small was big for southern cinema (IANS Special: 2014 In Retrospect)". Sify. Archived from the original on February 10, 2015.
  12. ^ "Winners: 62nd Britannia Filmfare Awards (South)". The Times of India. January 16, 2017.
  13. ^ Rajamani, Radhika (December 25, 2014). "Nagarjuna's son Akhil Akkineni to make his debut". Rediff. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  14. ^ a b Afreen, Sama (January 15, 2017). "I was mobbed by girls a few times: Akhil". The Times of India. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  15. ^ "Nagarjuna's son Akhil's debut film launched". The Hindu. December 17, 2014 – via Inter Asian News Service.
  16. ^ "Hello movie review". Times of India.
  17. ^ a b kavirayani, suresh (January 26, 2019). "Mr Majnu movie review: Akhil steals the show!". Deccan Chronicle.
  18. ^ a b "Akhil Akkineni-Pooja Hegde's Most Eligible Bachelor to hit screens on October 8". Cinema Express. August 28, 2021.
  19. ^ "Most Eligible Bachelor hits half century at box office". Times of India. November 2, 2021.
  20. ^ "Agent movie review and box office collection LIVE updates: Akhil Akkineni's film opens to disappointing box office results". The Times of India. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  21. ^ "Akhil Akkineni-Shriya Bhupal wedding called off: Is this the reason?". India Today. February 23, 2017. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  22. ^ "Real reason why Nagarjuna's son Akhil Akkineni, Shriya Bhupal called off wedding?". The Indian Express. February 23, 2017. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  23. ^ "Nagarjuna's son Akhil Akkineni debuts in 'Manam'". Deccan Chronicle. May 25, 2014.
  24. ^ "Akhil Cameo Role Teaser – Aatadukundam Raa Movie – Sushanth, Sonam Bajwa". ap7am.com. August 18, 2016. Archived from the original on December 18, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  25. ^ "Hello movie review: Akhil Akkineni and Kalyani Priyadarshan starrer leave us with a heart full of good feelings". The Indian Express. December 23, 2017.
  26. ^ "Sisindri Awards: List of Awards won by Telugu movie Sisindri", The Times of India, retrieved February 12, 2021
  27. ^ "Winners of 63rd Britannia Filmfare Awards South 2016 (Telugu)". The Times of India. January 16, 2017. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  28. ^ "SIIMA 2016 Telugu movie nominations revealed; 'Baahubali,' 'Srimanthudu' lead the list5". International Business Times. Archived from the original on May 26, 2016.
  29. ^ "List of Winners CineMAA Awards 2016 – Complete Details". Scooptimes. June 12, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  30. ^ "List of Winners Santosham Awards 2016 – Complete Details". Scooptimes. August 16, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  31. ^ "Balakrishna, Nagarjuna and Keerthy Suresh among TSR-TV9 film award winners". The News Minute. February 16, 2019. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
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