Naga Chaitanya is an Indian actor, who predominately works in Telugu films. He is famous for starring in various Telugu films including Premam (2016), Majili (2019), Venky Mama (2019), Love Story (2021) and Bangarraju (2022). He is the son of celebrated Telugu actor Nagarjuna and grandson of veteran actor Akkineni Nageswara.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Akkineni Naga Chaitanya was born on Sunday, 23 November 1986 (age 38 years; as of 2024) in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh (now Hyderabad, Telangana). His zodiac sign is Sagittarius. He attended Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan, Chennai for his early education and A.M.M. Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Chennai for his higher education. After completing his studies in Chennai, he pursued a bachelor’s degree in commerce at St. Mary’s College, Hyderabad. [1]St Marys College Later, he took a three-month acting course in Mumbai. He studied the keyboard at Trinity College, London and also received training in acting and martial arts in Los Angeles. [2]Rediff
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 9″
Weight (approx.): 75 kg
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Body Measurements (approx.): Chest 40′ Waist 32′ Biceps 14′
Family
He is a scion of the Akkineni-Daggubati family, which has nurtured various Telugu actors.
Parents & Siblings
Chaitanya’s father, Akkineni Nagarjuna, is a well-known Indian actor, film producer, television presenter, and entrepreneur, who has predominantly worked in the Telugu entertainment industry.
His mother’s name is Lakshmi Daggubati, who is an interior designer.
His parents got divorced when he was young. In 1992, Nagarjuna got married to actress Amala Mukherjee. Meanwhile, Lakshmi Daggubati got married to Sharath Vijayaraghavan, a corporate executive at Sundaram Motors. Together, Nagarjuna and Amala have a son, Akhil Akkineni (Naga Chaitanya’s half-brother), who is also an actor.
Wife
Chaitanya got married to actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu in a Hindu ceremony on 6 October 2017 and a Christian ceremony on 7 October 2017.
The couple separated in October 2021 following which Samantha took to Instagram to announce their separation and wrote,
To all our well wishers. After much deliberation and thought Chay and I have decided to part ways as husband and wife to pursue our own paths. We are fortunate to have a friendship of over a decade that was the very core of our relationship which we believe will always hold a special bond between us. We request our fans, well wishers and the media to support us during this difficult time and give us the privacy we need to move on. Thanking you for your support.”
They got divorced in 2022. On 8 August 2024, he got engaged to his girlfriend Sobhita Dhulipala.
On 4 December 2024, he got married to Sobhita Dhulipala at Annapurna Studios in Hyderabad.
Other relatives
His paternal grandfather, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, was an Indian actor and producer, known for his works majorly in Telugu cinema.
His maternal grandfather, D. Ramanaidu, was also a film producer.
His maternal uncle is Venkatesh, who is an actor.
His cousins Rana Daggubati, Sumanth, and Sushanth, are also popular Telugu actors.
Relationships/Affairs
Chaitanya dated Samantha Ruth Prabhu from 2015 to 2017.
In June 2022, he started dating actress Sobhita Dhulipala.
Career
Film
Chaitanya started his career in 2009 with the Telugu film Josh as Sathya. Other Telugu films in which he appeared include Ye Maaya Chesave (2010), Autonagar Surya (2014), Premam (2016), Shailaja Reddy Alludu (2018), Majili (2019), and Bangarraju (2022).
He made a cameo appearance in the Telugu films Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (2010), Krishnamma Kalipindi Iddarini (2015), Aatadukundam Raa (2016), Mahanati (2018), and Oh! Baby (2019).
He made his Bollywood debut in the film Laal Singh Chaddha (2022) as Balaraju Bodi.
Web Series
In 2022, he appeared in the Hindi web series Dootha on Amazon Prime Video.
Awards
- 2009: Best Male Debut Award for the Telugu film Josh at CineMAA Awards
- 2009: Best Male Debut – South Award for the Telugu film Josh at Filmfare Awards South
- 2010: Rising Star of South Award for the Telugu film Ye Maaya Chesave at South Scope Cinema Awards
- 2014: Best Actor (Critics) Award for the Telugu film Manam at SIIMA Awards
- 2014: Best Supporting Actor Award for the Telugu film Manam at Nandi Awards
- 2016: Special Appreciation Award for the Telugu film Premam at TSR – TV9 National Film Awards
- 2017: Best Actor Award for the Telugu film Premam at the 15th Santosham Film Awards
- 2019: Special Jury Award for the Telugu film Shailaja Reddy Alludu at TSR – TV9 National Film Awards
Facts/Trivia
- Chaitanya is known by the names Chai Akkineni and Chay. [3]Naga Chaitanya – Instagram [4]Times Now News
- He follows a non-vegetarian diet.
- His hobbies include playing the keyboard and travelling.
- He has a tattoo on his right hand.
- He decided to take up acting when he was in his second year of college.
- He was on the list of Hyderabad Times’ Most Desirable Men consecutively three times from 2017 to 2020.
- In an interview, he said that his father bought him his first car when he was 18.
- Unlike other actors, he is not very active on social media. In an interview, he talked about this and said,
I’m very disconnected from social media, to be honest. It’s… I’m such a boring person online. Of course, around my film releases, I’m reading more than posting. Reading conversations, reviews, and reactions. But I don’t attach myself too much to it, because there’s a lot of toxic material there, there is a lot of toxic material and if you can’t filter it in and figure out what’s good for you, and what’s not good for you, it can drain you and it can put you on the wrong path.”
References
↑1 | St Marys College |
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↑2 | Rediff |
↑3 | Naga Chaitanya – Instagram |
↑4 | Times Now News |