Happy Birthday Nagarjuna: 9 surprising facts about the ‘King’ that will amaze you

Nagarjuna Akkineni has been one of the towering figures in the Telugu cinema industry who has managed to entertain audiences successfully for nearly four decades. With a career that also includes entrepreneurship, production, television hosting and philanthropy, Nagarjuna has acted in over 100 films to his name and has numerous accolades. On his birthday, check out some lesser-known facts about this legendary star that might just astonish you.

Nagarjuna’s film career began when he was just eight months old. He appeared in a cameo as a baby in his father’s film ‘Velugu Needalu’ in 1961.

It is not widely known that KV Vijayendra Prasad, who wrote blockbusters like Baahubali and Bajrangi Bhaijaan, started his film career with Nagarjuna’s 1988 movie Janaki Ramudu.

A key successful collaboration in Nagarjuna’s career is with K. Raghavendra Rao, having teamed up on 9 films.

Never one to shy away from showcasing talent, Nagarjuna has played a key role in launching careers in Telugu cinema, giving opportunities to nearly a dozen actresses. Some of the notable names include Amala Akkineni, Anushka Shetty, Ayesha Takia, Bhoomika Chawla, Sushmita Sen, Urmila Matondkar and others through his movies.

Not just a film star, he is a beloved cultural figure in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, embodying the essence of Telugu cinema's rich traditions and heritage.

In 1987 and 1991, Nagarjuna set a record with six lead hero film releases in each of those years, a milestone yet to be broken.

Nagarjuna was one of the first to challenge the conventional norms, acting as the hero to his father’s heroine Sridevi, and later sharing the screen with his son’s heroines, Rakul Preet Singh and Lavanya Tripathi.

Though he began his entertainment career, Nagarjuna is also an engineer by profession. He earned a degree in mechanical engineering from the US, balancing his studies with his passion for acting.

Nagarjuna has delivered many hits in Telugu cinema, including the trend-setting blockbuster Shiva, which ran for over 100 days with houseful collections at Hyderabad’s Devi 70MM theater.