Naga Chaitanya is an Indian actor who predominately works in Telugu films. He got famous for various Telugu films including Premam (2016), Majili (2019), Venky Mama (2019), Love Story (2021) and Bangarraju (2022). His father, Nagarjuna is a famous actor and his grandfather, Akkineni Nageswara Rao is also a well-known veteran actor.
Wiki/Biography
Akkineni Naga Chaitanya was born on Sunday, 23 November 1986 (age 36 years; as of 2022) in Hyderabad. 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 his graduation at St. Mary’s College, Hyderabad. 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.
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
Chaitanya belongs to a family where many members of his family are actors.
Parents & Siblings
Chaitanya’s father’s name is Akkineni Nagarjuna, who is an actor.
His mother’s name is Lakshmi Daggubati, who is an interior designer.
His parents got divorced when he was young. His father later married actress Amala Mukherjee and his mother married Sharath Vijayaraghavan, who is a corporate executive at Sundaram Motors. He has a half-brother Akhil Akkineni, who is an actor.
Ex-wife
Chaitanya married actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu in a Hindu ceremony on 6 October 2017, and a Christian ceremony on 7 October 2017.
They got separated from each other in October 2021, when 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.”
Other relatives
His paternal grandfather is Akkineni Nageswara Rao, who is an actor.
His maternal grandfather is producer D. Ramanaidu.
His maternal uncle is Venkatesh, who is an actor.
His cousins are also popular Telugu actors- Rana Daggubati, Sumanth, and Sushanth.
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.
He appeared in other Telugu films including 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).
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.
- 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 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.”