Akhil Akkineni

Akhil Akkineni (born 8 April 1994) is an Indian actor known for his work in Telugu cinema. He debuted as a child artist in the film Sisindri, for which he won a Filmfare Special Award.

Akkineni 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). Akkineni is the son of Indian actors Nagarjuna and Amala.

Early life Akkineni was born on 8 April 1994, in San Jose, California, United States, 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. He is the grandson of actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao, and half-brother of Naga Chaitanya.

Akkineni studied at Chaitanya Vidyalaya and 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. He also holds a BBA from the University of South Florida.

Later in his teens, he pursued cricket and became a member in his father's 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 team, saw him secure the man-of-the-match and man-of-the-series awards. 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.

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).

In 2014, Akkineni appeared in a cameo appearance in the 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. He described his shoot for the film alongside his grandfather, father and half-brother, as "nervous and exciting". 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. He subsequently went on to make appearances in several commercials, notably for Karbonn, Mountain Dew, and Titan.

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. 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. 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. Following that, Akkineni's third film was Mr. Majnu (2019), directed by Venky Atluri and co-starring Niddhi Agerwal. 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, 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. It became a hit and gave Akkineni a long-awaited box office success.

Akkineni's next film, Agent, directed by Surender Reddy and produced by Anil 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.

His next film, Lenin, was released to decent reviews and became his biggest blockbuster in his career. It is considered his turning point and proved his acting skills.

Personal life 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.

He got engaged to Mumbai-based artist Zainab Ravdjee, the daughter of industrialist Zulfi Ravdjee, on 26 November 2024. The couple tied the knot on 6 June 2025, in a traditional Telugu wedding ceremony held in Hyderabad.

Filmography

Awards and nominations +List of awards and nominations Year Award Category Film Result 1995 43rd Filmfare Awards South Special Award (Child actor) Sisindri 2016 63rd Filmfare Awards South Best Male Debut – South Akhil 5th South Indian International Movie Awards Best Male Debut – Telugu CineMAA Awards 2016 Best Male Debut 14th Santosham Film Awards Best Debut Actor 2019 TSR – TV9 National Film Awards Special Jury AwardHello