Akhil Akkineni
| Akhil Akkineni | |
|---|---|
| Born |
8 April 1994[1] San Jose, California, United States |
| Residence | Hyderabad, Telangana, India |
| Nationality | Indian American |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1995; 2014– present |
| Parent(s) |
Nagarjuna Akkineni Amala Akkineni |
| Relatives |
Akkineni Nageshwara Rao (Grand father) Akkineni Naga Chaitanya (Half-brother) |
Akhil Akkineni (born 8 April 1994) is an Indian film actor who works in the Telugu film industry. The son of actors Nagarjuna and Amala, Akhil made his acting debut as a baby who leaves his home in the comedy film Sisindri (1994), aged one. Born into a film family on 8 April 1994 in San Jose, California, Akhil is the son of Akkineni Nagarjuna and his second wife Amala (née Mukherjee); his elder half-brother Naga Chaitanya is also an actor. He is the grandson of actor and film producer Akkineni Nageswara Rao. He is of Telugu descent on his father's side, and on his mother's side he is of Bengali and Irish descent.[2][3]
Akhil started his education at Chaitanya Vidyalaya, before heading to study in Australia for two years and returned to complete his studies at Oakridge International School, Hyderabad. Akhil revealed that he chose to pursue acting as a career aged 16, and thus turned down his father's request for him to study business management and instead enrolled in an acting course at Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York.[4]
Career
Akhil made his first film appearance by portraying the title role in Shiva Nageswara Rao's Sisindri (1995), a Telugu adaptation of the English comedy film Baby's Day Out (1994). Aged one, he completed his work as a baby escaping from home, and the film went on to win positive reviews and perform well at the box office.[5] Akhil did not appear in any other films as a child artiste, and continued his education, staying away from the film industry. Akhil re-emerged in 2010 as a cricketer for his father's, Nag Kings team in the 2010 edition of the celebrity Tollywood Trophy, which was organised to develop funds for the Movie Artistes' Association. His match-winning half-century in the final against the Venky Warriors team, saw him secure the man-of-the-match and man-of-the-series awards.[6] His performance in the matches saw him called up to play for the Telugu Warriors in the inaugural Celebrity Cricket League during 2011, and he has since regularly participated in the tournament and won the 2015 edition as captain of his team.[7]
As a result of his success in the cricket tournaments, his return as an actor had drawn media curiosity, but Akhil constantly denied reports that he had signed any projects during late 2013.[8] In 2014, Akhil made a cameo appearance during the climax of Vikram Kumar's family drama film Manam (2014), which featured three generations of actors from the Akkineni family. The makers initially hoped to keep Akhil's appearance a secret, but the news was leaked out prior to the film's release.[9] Director Vikram Kumar had proposed the idea of introducing Akhil as an actor through the film and had approached Akhil's father, Nagarjuna, with the idea, who subsequently agreed. Akhil shot for the film for a few days alongside his grandfather, father and half-brother, and described the experience as "nervous and exciting", and added that Vikram Kumar helped calm him down during the shoot.[10] Manam went on to become one of the most profitable Telugu films of 2014, while critics dubbed the film as "classic" en route to it winning several awards including Best Film at the Filmfare Awards.[11][12] Akhil subsequently went on to make appearances in commercials, notably featuring in adverts for Karbonn Phone, Mountain Dew and Titan watches with Kalki Koechlin.[13]
When the question of his first film as a leading actor came up, Akhil listened to scripts from several directors and was most impressed by V. V. Vinayak's narration of an action film, which was later titled Akhil (2015) after himself. In order to prepare for the role, Akhil enrolled in a stunt workshop with his personal trainer Kicha and attended workshops in Thailand for two months.[4] Produced by actor Nithin and Sudhakar Reddy, the film began production in December 2014 and featured him alongside fellow debutant actress Sayesha Saigal, who was also from a film family.[14]
Filmography
 |
Denotes films that have not yet been released |
| Film | Year | Role | Director | Awards | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sisindri | 1995 | Sisindri | Shiva Nageswara Rao | Filmfare Best Child Actor | Child actor |
| Manam | 2014 | Akhil | Vikram Kumar | Guest Appearance | |
| Akhil | 2015 | Akhil | V. V. Vinayak | Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut – South | Debut movie as an Adult |
| Untitled Vikram Kumar film | 2017 | Vikram Kumar |
References
- ↑ "Akhil Akkineni, 22-years-old". www.dnaindia.com.
- ↑ "I was mobbed by girls a few times: Akhil". The Times of India.
- ↑ http://www.rediff.com/movies/report/akhil-akkineni-to-get-engaged/20160908.htm
- 1 2 Sangeetha Devi Dundoo. "Akhil Akkineni". The Hindu.
- ↑ "Mama's boy". The Hindu.
- ↑ Staff Reporter. "Nag Kings lift Tollywood trophy". The Hindu.
- ↑ "Akhil to play in CCL matches". indiaglitz.com.
- ↑ "Not doing a film with Trivikram: Akhil Akkineni". The New Indian Express.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ IANS. "Nagarjuna's son Akhil's debut film launched". The Hindu.