Akkineni Nagarjuna

Akkineni Nagarjuna

Actor Nagarjuna at F1 show run in Hyderabad in March, 2015.
Born (1959-08-29) 29 August 1959
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Residence Film Nagar, Hyderabad, Telangana, India
Nationality Indian
Ethnicity Telugu
Alma mater Eastern Michigan University
Anna University
Occupation Actor, Producer, Businessman, Philanthropist
Years active 1986–present
Spouse(s)
Children Akkineni Naga Chaitanya
Akkineni Akhil
Parent(s) Akkineni Nageswara Rao
Akkineni Annapurna
Relatives See Daggubati-Akkineni Family

Akkineni Nagarjuna (born 29 August 1959) is an Indian film actor, producer and television presenter who works primarily in the Telugu cinema, and television. He has acted in over ninety films as an actor in a lead, supporting and cameo roles, including Bollywood and Tamil films. He has received nine state Nandi Awards, three Filmfare Awards South and one Special Mention at the National Film Awards. The 1996 film Ninne Pelladata which he produced, was declared the Best Telugu film of the year at the National Film Awards.

He enacted the role of 15th century composer Annamacharya in the 1997 film Annamayya; as Yavakri (the son of the ascetic Bharadwaja) in the 2002 film Agni Varsha; as Major Padmapani Acharya in the 2003 war film, LOC Kargil; as 17th-century composer Kancherla Gopanna in the 2006 film Sri Ramadasu; as Sai Baba of Shirdi in the 2012 film Shirdi Sai; and as Chandaludu (Lord Siva in disguise) in the 2013 film Jagadguru Adi Sankara.[1]

In 1989, he starred in the Maniratnam directed Romantic drama film, Geetanjali, which won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. In the same year, he acted in Siva, an action blockbuster directed by Ram Gopal Varma, which premiered at the 13th International Film Festival of India.[2] In 1990, he subsequently made his Bollywood debut with the Hindi remake of the same film titled Shiva, and tasted success. In 1998, He received the National Film Award-Special Mention for his performance in the historical film Annamayya.

In 2013, he has represented Cinema of South India at the Delhi Film Festival's 100 Years of Indian Cinema's celebration, alongside Ramesh Sippy and Vishal Bhardwaj from Bollywood.[3] In 1995, He ventured into film production, with a production unit operating in Seychelles, and was a co-director of an Emmy Award-winning film animation company in Michigan, U.S.[4] Along with his brother, Akkineni Venkat, Nagarjuna is the co-owner of the Production company, Annapurna Studios and is the president of the non-profit film school Annapurna International School of Film and Media based in Hyderabad.[5][6][7]

Early life and family

Nagarjuna with wife Akkineni Amala, and sons Akkineni Naga Chaitanya (left) and Akkineni Akhil (right)

Akkineni Nagarjuna, was born on 29 August 1959 at Chennai, Tamil Nadu[8] to veteran actor Nageswara Rao Akkineni and Annapoorna Akkineni. The family later moved to Hyderabad where he attended the Hyderabad Public School and Little Flower Junior College. He got his Bachelor of Engineering from the College of Engineering, Guindy. He completed M.S. in Automobile Engineering from Eastern Michigan University.[9][10] He is the spouse of actress Amala Akkineni, the father of actors Naga Chaitanya and Akkineni Akhil and the younger brother of well known and hugely successful Tollywood producer Venkat Akkineni.

Acting career

Nagarjuna, began his acting as a child artist in the 1967 Telugu film Sudigundalu directed by veteran Adurthi Subbarao. It stars his father Akkineni Nageswara Rao in lead role. Years later he made his debut as a lead actor through the 1986 Telugu film Vikram directed by V. Madhusudhana Rao. It is the remake of 1983 Hindi film Hero. The film was a success giving Nagarjuna a good start. Later, he was starred in films like Majnu, directed by Dasari Narayana Rao, which was well received and became successful, Nagarjuna received positive reviews for his portrayal. He was then starred in Sankeertana, another hit directed by debutant Geetha Krishna with music by Ilaiyaraaja. He is an excellent hero. The film was appreciated for its content and music. In 1988, he starred in the blockbuster Aakhari Poratam, scripted by Yandamuri Veerendranath, and directed by K. Raghavendra Rao where he was paired opposite Sridevi and Suhasini. In 1988 he starred in Janaki Ramudu paired along with Vijayashanti directed again by K. Raghavendra Rao was also a decent runner. Though his acting was not up to the standards, he was lucky enough to get more opportunities.

In 1989 He was starred in the Maniratnam directed Romantic-drama, Geetanjali. The film went on to win the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment in 1990. Immediately, he saw another success, Siva. This film marked the debut of leading Bollywood director Ram Gopal Varma. The film is based on college politics, a new genre at that time. In 1990, he subsequently made his Bollywood debut with the Hindi remake of the same film titled Shiva. Even, the Hindi version saw a huge box-office success. He was then starred in the social problem film Jaitra Yatra for which he received critical reception. He followed it up with average fares like Prema Yuddham, Nirnayam and Iddharu Iddhare. All the films did nothing exceptional to Nagarjuna's career as they were only moderately acclaimed and saw only average success.

He followed it up with box office hits like Killer, Neti Siddhartha, Chaithanya, and Nirnayam working with eminent directors such as Fazil, Prathap Pothen and Priyadarshan. Nagarjuna thus gained the tagline Celluloid Scientist for experimenting with different genres. Other films which were released in the subsequent years include President Gari Pellam, Varasudu, Gharana Bullodu and Allari Alludu. Among them, President Gari Pellam, Gharana Bullodu and Allari Alludu were big hits at box-office.

In 1994 he starred in a Hindi-Telugu bilingual Criminal directed by Mahesh Bhatt. The same year he ventured into comedy for the first time with Hello Brother. It was later remade into Hindi as Judwaa and dubbed into Tamil. In 1996, Nagarjuna starred and produced Ninne Pelladata, which was directed by Krishna Vamsi. The movie won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu and Filmfare Award for Best Film - Telugu. The next year, Nagarjuna acted in Annamayya where he portrayed the role of Annamacharya, a 15th-century Telugu singer and poet, won him his Filmfare Best Actor Award and his first Nandi Award for Best Actor.He also received a National Award for Special mention for the film Annamayya. His subsequent releases were Nuvvu Vastavani, Ninne Premistha and Azad.

He was starred in the romantic comedies such as Santosham, Manmadhudu, and Shivamani as well. He produced Satyam in 2003, that starred his nephew Sumanth. In 2004, Nagarjuna had two releases, Nenunnanu and Mass. The latter was produced by Nagarjuna and directed by choreographer Lawrence Raghavendra. In 2005, Nagarjuna acted in and produced Super. In 2006, he starred in Sri Ramadasu, his second period film based on the 18th-century Telugu composer of the same name.[11] Nagarjuna received the Nandi Award for Best actor for the film. In December 2007, he appeared in Don and a year later, he appeared in King alongside Trisha Krishnan and Srihari.

In the year 2010, he had releases such as Kedi and Ragada. His latest film Gaganam was released on 11 February 2011. Its Tamil version was titled Payanam. In 2011 Nagarjuna signed three movies in a row. They are Rajanna,[12] Damarukam and Shirdi Sai.[13] He completed two new films Greekuveerudu starring Nayanatara opposite him and this was an average grosser at the box office. His next release was Bhai which was a disaster at the box office starring Richa Gandhopadhyay opposite to him.[14] In 2014, Nagarjuna, was starred in the blockbuster, family drama, Manam, directed by Vikram Kumar. Later, he has acted in Soggade Chinni Nayana, in a dual role, and later he did a handicapped role in Vamshi Paidipally's bilingual film Oopiri, which is a recent blockbuster hit.

Non-film work

Television

Co-owner Nagarjuna during Mumbai Masters Match at Indian Badminton League 2013

Nagarjuna made his début as a television producer in 2009 with the soap opera Yuva.[15] He is one of the major shareholders of the television channel Maa TV.[16] Nagarjuna hosts the Telugu version of KBC - Meelo Evaru Koteeswarudu. The first season of the show was telecasted on MAA TV From 9 June 2014 to 7 August 2014 (40 episodes). The second season was also showcased on MAA TV From 9 December 2014 to 27 February 2015 (55 episodes).[17][18] In 2015, He was honored with the Entertainment Leader Award (Television) for his work in Meelo Evaru Koteeswarudu at the TV-5 Business Leaders Awards ceremony.[19]

Ownerships, endorsements and earnings

As of 2013, He is the co-owner of Mumbai Masters of Indian Badminton League along with Sunil Gavaskar, and Mahi Racing Team India along with Mahendra Singh Dhoni.[17][20][21] Nagarjuna currently endorses Kalyan Jewellers in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.[22] He is listed #56 and #61 in Forbes India top 100 Celebrities for the year 2012 and 2013 respectively.[23][24]

N3 Realty Enterprises

Nagarjuna is the founding Partner of N3 Realty Enterprises, the parent entity for N-Convention center, N-Grill and District N in Hyderabad, and is jointly owned by himself and Nalla Preetham Reddy. In 2014, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, identified that the convention facility had encroached upon the Full Tank Level boundary.[25] Subsequently, through legal opinions sought by Nagarjuna, a correction path of the land has been initiated by the local administrators.[26]

Charity

Nagarjuna at TeachAIDS launch in 2010

Nagarjuna, with his wife Amala is the co-founder of Blue Cross of Hyderabad, a registered society recognized by the Animal Welfare Board of India.[27][28] a non-government organization (NGO) in Hyderabad, India, which works towards the welfare of animals and preservation of animal rights. He is also involved in some welfare programs undertaken by the MAA TV association, and serves as the brand ambassador for HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns.[29] In 2010, he starred in an HIV/AIDS animated software tutorial created by TeachAIDS, a nonprofit founded at Stanford University.[30]

Awards and nominations

Nagarjuna has been the recipient of 2 National Film Awards, 9 Nandi Awards and 3 Filmfare Awards South.

National Film Awards

Year Film Category Result
1996 Ninne Pelladatha Best Feature Film in Telugu (Producer) Won
1997 Annamayya Special Mention - Actor

Nandi Awards

Year Film Category Result
1996 Ninne Pelladatha Akkineni Award for Best Home viewing Feature Film (Producer) Won
1997 Annamayya Best Actor[31]
1999 Prema Katha Best Feature Film - Kansya (Bronze) (Producer)
2000 Yuvakudu Special Jury Award (Producer)[32]
2002 Santosham Best Actor[31]
Manmadhudu Best Feature Film - Swarna (Gold) (Producer)
2006 Sri Ramadasu Best Actor
2011 Rajanna Special Jury Award (Actor)[33]
Best Feature Film - Rajata (Silver) (Producer)[33]

Filmfare Awards South

Year Category Result
1996 Ninne Pelladatha Best Film (Telugu) (Producer) Won
1997 Annamayya Best Actor (Telugu)
2014 Manam Best Film (Telugu) (Producer) Won

Other awards

Year Film Awards Category Result
1986 Vikram Vamsee Berkeley Awards Best Actor Won
1989 Geetanjali AP Cinegoers Awards
Bharatamuni Awards
1989 Siva Vamsee Berkley Awards
Cinema Express Award
1996 Ninne Pelladuta Akruthi Film Award
1997 Annamayya Screen Videocon Award
Bharatamuni Awards
2000 Azad Andhra Pradesh Film Journalists Association Award
2005 Mass CineMAA Awards
2012 Rajanna[34][35] South Indian International Movie Awards Special Appreciation (Actor)
CineMAA Awards Best Actor (Jury)
2013 Shirdi Sai[36] CineMAA Awards Best Actor (Jury)
2016 Oopiri

Filmography

Below are the selected filmography of Nagarjuna.

References

  1. ↑ Suresh Krishnamoorthy (2013-04-30). "At the end of the day, Nag wants to feel good". Chennai, India: The Hindu. Retrieved 2013-08-25.
  2. ↑ "Directorate of Film Festival" (PDF).
  3. ↑ "NDTV Movies". ndtv.com.
  4. ↑ "45th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  5. ↑ "I need a break: Nagarjuna". The Times Of India. 20 April 2012.
  6. ↑ "Nagarjuna is brand ambassador for Kalyan Jewellers". Thehindubusinessline.in. 2010-12-01. Retrieved 2012-10-24.
  7. ↑ "Swept away by ‘Nag' magic". The Hindu (Chennai, India). 11 July 2011.
  8. ↑ "'Prince' and 'King' add Kamma Flavour to Congress". greatandhra.com.
  9. ↑ "Know your Foe – Eastern Michigan 2009, famous alums, Indian actor Nagarjuna Akkineni". Eastern Michigan University newsletter (Ypsilanti, MI). 18 September 2009.
  10. ↑ "I chose life over Bollywood: Nagarjuna". The Times Of India. 11 July 2010.
  11. ↑ "Sri Ramadasu floors them all". The Hindu (Chennai, India). 15 April 2006. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
  12. ↑ "Nagarjuna Rajanna movie details".
  13. ↑ "Nagarjuna Saibaba Movie Titled As ‘Shirdi Sai’ | Complete Cost And Crew Details Exclusively | Currentweek Cinema". Cinema.currentweek.net. Retrieved 2012-10-24.
  14. ↑ Nagarjuna's Love Story ifilmish.com
  15. ↑ "Nagarjuna launches ‘Yuva’". The Hindu (Chennai, India). 20 November 2007. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
  16. ↑ "Actor Nagarjuna to focus on entertainment biz". The Hindu Business Line. 20 December 2007. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
  17. 1 2 "Nagarjuna to host Telugu KBC". The Hindu (Chennai, India). 19 April 2014.
  18. ↑ "Nagarjuna’s Meelo Evaru Koteeswarudu Grand Finale On August 7". OneIndia entertainment. 14 August 2014.
  19. ↑ "Entertainment Leader Award to Actor Nagarjuna". The New Indian Express.
  20. ↑ "Sunil Gavaskar and actor Nagarjuna buy Mumbai franchise of IBL - The Times of India". The Times Of India. 18 July 2013.
  21. ↑ "After Megastar its now Superstar". www.cinesprint.com. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  22. ↑ "Amitabh Bachchan shoots for Kalyan Jewellers ad with South stars: view pics!". bollywoodlife.com.
  23. ↑ "Nagarjuna". forbesindia.com.
  24. ↑ "Pawan Kalyan tops Forbes list in Tollywood". The Times of India.
  25. ↑ "N Convention Centre: Legal opinion sought". Deccan Chronicle.
  26. ↑ "N Convention on ‘correction’ path?". The Hindu.
  27. ↑ "Our Team - Blue Cross Of Hyderbad". bluecrosshyd.in.
  28. ↑ "Blue Cross of Hyderabad - The Team". Blue Cross of Hyderabad. 26 January 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  29. ↑ "Maa Tv associationTeam". Maa Tv Reach out (Chennai, India). 26 January 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  30. ↑ "Animation lessons on HIV/AIDS awareness released". The Hindu (Chennai, India). 27 November 2010. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
  31. 1 2 "Many Happy Returns to Nag". IndiaGlitz. 29 August 2007. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
  32. ↑ "Nandi Awards -2000". 19 September 2002. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
  33. 1 2 "2011 Nandi Awards winners list - The Times of India". The Times of India. 13 October 2012. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
  34. ↑ "SIIMA: Nagarjuna and others for Telugu nominations - South Cinema - Telugu News - ibnlive". Ibnlive.in.com. 2012-06-05. Retrieved 2012-10-24.
  35. ↑ 5.50 PM IST 06.18.2012 (2012-06-18). "Kamal Haasan graces CineMAA awards 2012 - Bollywood News & Gossip, Movie Reviews, Trailers & Videos at". Bollywoodlife.com. Retrieved 2012-10-24.
  36. ↑ "Nitya, Nag bag awards on star-studded night". The Hindu (Chennai, India). 16 June 2013.

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