Reigning the World of Tollywood

One might be kidding if they say they haven't come across his face at least once in a lifetime. This face has not only been famous in the Tollywood industry, but also to the whole of India's film industry. The face of the legendary actor Akkineni Nagarjuna.

The man, the myth, the legend; Image Source: The Indian Express

His countless performances have all excelled to make him become the renowned actor he is today. Starting out at a young age, Nagarjuna has been giving us hits ever since he took the path of becoming an actor. To this day, he has a record of more than 100 movies under his name. He has predominantly worked in Telugu films but has also given great performances in some Hindi and Tamil movies.

Born on 29th August 1959 in Madras to a Telugu family of the veteran actor Akkineni Nageswra Rao, Nagarjuna had attended the Hyderabad Public School and Little Flower Junior College after the family shifted to Hyderabad later. He has pursued his Bachelor in Engineering from Anna University in Madras and later earned his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

Nagarjuna began as a child artist in the year 1967 for the Telugu film Sudigundalu in which he appeared as an infant child. However, his film debut as a lead actor began in 1986 through the Telugu film Vikram.

This film did great and thus emerged as a stepping stone for Nagarjuna. Soon, he was seen in the film Majnu, where his portrayal of a heartbroken man received a lot of positive feedback. By 1988 he had acted in the blockbuster Aakhari Poratam, scripted by Yandamuri Veerendranath, and directed by K. Raghavendra Rao. None of the movies seemed to disappoint, they would rather end up becoming hugely successful. He proceeded with more movies like Ranaki Ramudu and Geetanjali.

His performance is Geetanjali, which was a romantic drama, won him the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment in 1990.

Nagarjuna however became a superstar after Ram Gopal Verma's directorial debut, Shiva. It became a pioneering film for the Telugu industry and has thus risen up the fame for the actor's outstanding performance. From then onwards, Nagarjuna was always seen acing his roles in movies that dominated as box office hits. These movies included Killer, Neti Siddhartha, Nirnayam, President Gari Pellam, Varasudu, Gharana Bullodu, and Allari Alludu.

He would pair up with distinguished directors like Fazil and Priyadarshan. By 1994, he bagged his first Hindi-Telugu bilingual, which was directed by Mahesh Bhatt. Soon enough, he started exploring more in terms of genre and thus began with the comedy film Hello Brother, which was later adapted as Judwa in Hindi. Nagarjuna starred in Krishna Vamsi's Ninne Pelladata which won him a National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu and Filmfare Award for Best Film - Telugu.

However, one of his big sweeps came from the film he starred in the subsequent year— Annamayya. He played the role of the 15th-century Telugu singer and poet Annamacharya and won a National Award for this role along with a Nandi Award and Filmfare Award for best actor.

There were a few romantic comedies like Santosham, Manmadhudu, and Shivamani. He also produced a film in 2003 named Satyam. Years passed, and he had produced and acted in many films. There were a few flops, but they were compensated by his relentless efforts. He did another bilingual film named Oopiri in 2017 that helped him bag the Nandi Award for best actor. Apart from acting in the film industry, he has also worked for various television shows.

He had made his debut as a soap opera producer in the year 2009 with Yuva. He was also the host of the Telugu version of KBC— Meelo Evaru Koteeswarudu. In addition, he is also known for hosting the third and fourth seasons of Bigg Boss Telugu in 2019 and 2020.

On his 62nd birthday, the nation celebrates him as a veteran Tollywood actor who has given marvellous performances throughout his career. Cheers to you and your skills, wishing you loads of luck and happiness.