Akhil Akkineni
Akhil Akkineni | |
---|---|
![]() Akkineni in 2017 | |
Born | [1] | 8 April 1994
Alma mater | University of South Florida Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 2015–present |
Parents |
|
Family | See Daggubati–Akkineni family |
Akhil Akkineni (born 8 April 1994) is an American actor of Indian descent who works in Telugu films. He first appeared on screen at the age of one in Sisindri (1995) and debuted in a lead role with Akhil (2015). He has received two Filmfare Awards South. He is the captain of Telugu Warriors cricket team that competes in the Celebrity Cricket League.
Early life and background
Akhil Akkineni was born on 8 April 1994 in San Jose, California, U.S.[1][3] to actors Nagarjuna and Amala. He is of Telugu descent from his father's side, and has Irish and Bengali 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 is also a BBA graduate from 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
As an infant, Akkineni 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, Akkineni appeared in a cameo in Vikram Kumar's hit family drama Manam (2014), which featured three generations of actors from the Akkineni family. His brief cameo was an instant hit 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 as one of the most profitable Telugu films of 2014. Critics dubbed the film as 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 V. V. Vinayak's Akhil (2015).[14] In order to prepare for the role, the actor enrolled in a stunt workshop with his personal trainer Kicha and attended workshops in Thailand for two months.[5] Produced by actor Nithin, the film began production in December 2014 and featured him alongside fellow debutante actress Sayesha Saigal.[15] The film released to poor reviews, and despite expectations, it was a disaster at the box office. Following this, he went on a two-year hiatus. In 2017, his second movie Hello was directed by Vikram Kumar along with Middle Class Abbayi and turned out to be a below par grosser at the box-office, despite garnering good reviews.[16] Akkineni's third project, Mr. Majnu, was directed by Venky Atluri and co-starred Niddhi Agerwal in 2019.[17] In October 2021, his fourth film, a romantic comedy titled Most Eligible Bachelor co starring Pooja Hegde, was released. It was produced by Geetha Arts Bunny Vas and Vasu Varma, and directed by Bhaskar.[18] This film was a hit and gave Akhil the long-awaited box office breakthrough.[19]
Personal life
In 2016, Akkineni was engaged to Shriya Bhupal, grand daughter of business tycoon G. V. Krishna Reddy. Their wedding was planned in 2017 but the engagement was later called off.[20][21]
Filmography
† | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
Year | Title | Role(s) | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1995 | Sisindri | Sisindri | Child artist | [8] |
2014 | Manam | Akhil | Cameo appearance | [22] |
2015 | Akhil | Akhil | Debut in as lead role | [14] |
2016 | Aatadukundam Raa | Himself | Special appearance in title song | [23] |
2017 | Hello | Avinash / Seenu | Also singer for "Yevevo" | [24] |
2019 | Mr. Majnu | Vikram "Vicky" Krishna | [17] | |
2021 | Most Eligible Bachelor | Harsha | [18] | |
2022 | Agent † | TBA | Filming | [25] |
Awards and nominations
| ||||||||
Totals[a] | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wins | 6 | |||||||
Nominations | 6 | |||||||
Note
|
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
- ^ a b "Tollywood's rising stars under 30". The Times of India. 29 October 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
- ^ a b Hooli, Sekhar H. (17 February 2015). "VV Vinayak Treats Akhil Akkineni Like Prince on Sets of his Debut Movie?". IB Times.
- ^ a b Vemuri Radhakrishna and Nagarjuna (24 July 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.
- ^ "Amala Akkineni can't speak Bengali – Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
- ^ a b Sangeetha Devi Dundoo (15 November 2015). "Akhil Akkineni: There's no guarantee for success". The Hindu.
- ^ "Nag Kings lift Tollywood trophy". The Hindu. 14 June 2010. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
- ^ "Akhil to play in CCL matches". indiaglitz.com.
- ^ a b "Mama's boy". The Hindu. 5 December 2009. ISSN 0971-751X.
- ^ "Samantha's tweet has Nag fuming". Bangalore Mirror.
- ^ "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 5 September 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
- ^ "Small was big for southern cinema (IANS Special: 2014 In Retrospect)". Sify. Archived from the original on 10 February 2015.
- ^ "Winners: 62nd Britannia Filmfare Awards (South)". The Times of India.
- ^ "Nagarjuna's son Akhil Akkineni to make his debut". Rediff. 25 December 2014.
- ^ a b "I was mobbed by girls a few times: Akhil". The Times of India.
- ^ "Nagarjuna's son Akhil's debut film launched". The Hindu – via Inter Asian News Service.
- ^ "Hello movie review". Times of India.
- ^ a b kavirayani, suresh (26 January 2019). "Mr Majnu movie review: Akhil steals the show!". Deccan Chronicle.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b "Akhil Akkineni-Pooja Hegde's Most Eligible Bachelor to hit screens on October 8". The New Indian Express. 28 August 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Most Eligible Bachelor hits half century at box office". Times of India.
- ^ "Akhil Akkineni-Shriya Bhupal wedding called off: Is this the reason?". India Today. 23 February 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
- ^ "Real reason why Nagarjuna's son Akhil Akkineni, Shriya Bhupal called off wedding?". The Indian Express. 23 February 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
- ^ "Nagarjuna's son Akhil Akkineni debuts in 'Manam'". Deccan Chronicle. 25 May 2014.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Akhil Cameo Role Teaser – Aatadukundam Raa Movie – Sushanth, Sonam Bajwa". ap7am.com. 18 August 2016.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Hello movie review: Akhil Akkineni and Kalyani Priyadarshan starrer leave us with a heart full of good feelings". The Indian Express. 23 December 2017.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ K., Janani (8 April 2021). "Akhil Akkineni unveils new poster of Agent on his birthday". India Today. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
- ^ Sisindri Awards: List of Awards won by Telugu movie Sisindri, retrieved 12 February 2021
- ^ "Winners of 63rd Britannia Filmfare Awards South 2016 (Telugu)". The Times of India. 16 January 2017. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
- ^ "SIIMA 2016 Telugu movie nominations revealed; 'Baahubali,' 'Srimanthudu' lead the list5". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 26 May 2016.
- ^ "List of Winners CineMAA Awards 2016 – Complete Details". Scooptimes. 12 June 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
- ^ "List of Winners Santosham Awards 2016 – Complete Details". Scooptimes. 16 August 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
- ^ "Balakrishna, Nagarjuna and Keerthy Suresh among TSR-TV9 film award winners". The News Minute. 16 February 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Living people
- American male film actors
- Male actors from San Jose, California
- Male actors from Hyderabad, India
- Telugu male actors
- Male actors in Telugu cinema
- 1994 births
- American people of Telugu descent
- American male child actors
- American people of Irish descent
- American male actors of Indian descent
- American people of Bengali descent
- South Indian International Movie Awards winners
- American emigrants to India
- American expatriate actors in India
- University of South Florida alumni
- Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute alumni
- Santosham Film Awards winners
- 20th-century American male actors
- 21st-century American male actors