Happy Birthday Nagarjuna: 5 reasons why the ‘King of Tollywood’ stands apart

In a successful film career spanning for over three-decades, Akkineni Nagarjuna has established himself as one among the leading stars of Telugu cinema, courtesy his acting chops, good looks, well-built physique, diversified selection of roles, and sincere performances. After a couple of appearances as a child artist in ‘Velugu Needalu’ and ‘Sudigundalu’, the son of legendary Telugu actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR) made his lead debut in 1986 with ‘Vikram’ – the remake of Subhash Ghai’s Bollywood blockbuster ‘Hero’.

Nag is one among the few heroes in South cinema who strikes a perfect balance between commercial and content-driven films. Time and again, the 58-year-old actor proves that ‘age is just a number’ by maintaining a well-toned body with no signs of aging whatsoever. He credits regular exercise and the pursuit of healthy day-to-day habits as his fitness mantra.

With a master’s degree in Automobile Engineering from the University of Michigan, the ‘Geethanjali’ thespian is also a successful entrepreneur and a businessman. He hosted the popular show ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ in Telugu titled ‘Meelo Evaru Koteeswarudu’ that raked in good TRPs on the small screen. On the occasion of his 59th birthday, here are five reasons which make the romantic star of Tollywood stand apart from his contemporaries.

No one, not even his assistants believed in Ram Gopal Varma’s passion, sincerity and intensity before the release of his stunning debut ‘Siva’ in 1989. It was Nagarjuna who trusted the 28-year-old civil engineering graduate and gave the go-ahead to his crime-drama. The rest is history as ‘Siva’ permanently altered the cinematic landscape in both Telugu and Hindi film industries.

In the same year, Nagarjuna requested Mani Ratnam to direct a Telugu film casting him as lead, to which the director agreed after initial reluctance. The result was the romantic-saga ‘Geethanjali’ which received both critical acclaim and commercial success at the box-office. It bagged the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment including seven Nandi awards as well.

Unlike most Southern superstars, ‘Yuva Samrat’ Nagarjuna had a fruitful stint as an actor in Hindi cinema too. He delivered a string of super-hits in his introductory years like ‘Shiva’, ‘Criminal’, and ‘Khuda Gawah’ which was a massive hit in Afghanistan too.

His last full-fledged role in Bollywood was Mahesh Bhatt’s ‘Zakhm’ in 1998, a social drama which won the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on national integration. After a gap of 15 years, Nagarjuna is returning to Hindi films with the upcoming Ranbir Kapoor-Alia Bhatt starrer ‘Brahmastra’.

If there is one actor who successfully depicted devotional roles after the golden era of NTR and ANR, it happens to be Nagarjuna Akkineni. At the time when devotional flicks are considered to be unsellable at the box-office, the ‘Hello Brother’ actor stunned and mesmerised everyone with his exceptional portrayal as 15th-century composer Annamacharya in the 1997 blockbuster ‘Annamayya’. He won the Nandi, Filmfare Award and the National Film Award – Special Mention for this film. Over the years, the Akkineni scion acted in many devotional films like ‘Sri Ramadasu’, ‘Shirdi Sai’ and ‘Om Namo Venkatesaya’.

Nagarjuna might be turning 59 today, but a glance at his well-toned body and attractive facial features say that he is among the fittest and handsome actors in the Telugu film fraternity. He is known to be the ‘King of Romance’ with immense popularity among ladies, only next to the legendary Sobhan Babu. The ‘Manmadhudu’ actor is the perfect definition of aging gracefully.

Unlike his coevals or for that matter, most present stars of Tollywood, Nagarjuna is super active on social media constantly updating fans about his films, family and major happenings in his life. He is quite vocal on Twitter and is not afraid to exhibit his true emotions to his fans.

Apart from the above five, Nagarjuna is dedicated to doing his share in social activities as well. He recently donated a mammoth sum of Rs 28 lakh to the Kerala relief fund. Along with his wife Amala, Nag is the co-founder of an animal welfare NGO which works towards the welfare of animals and preservation of animal rights.