South Indian superstar Nagarjuna turns 63: A look at interesting facts about the 'King of Tollywood'

Movie-maker Ayan Mukherji recently gave us a glimpse of Nagarjuna's look in the upcoming pan- india project 'Brahmastra' where he plays an artist Anish in the trilogy. The film also stars Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt in lead roles.Here's what you need to know about the actor and his rise to fame.

While South actors are getting noticed in Bollywood only recently, it was Nagarjuna who made a splash long ago with Hindi movies. His Bollywood debut was with the Hindi remake of 'Siva'. Later he also acted in 'Criminal and Khuda Gawah, starring Amitabh Bachchan and late Sridevi.

At 63, he's one of the most durable stars of Telugu filmdom. When most people have hung up their boots, Akkineni Nagarjuna continues to give actors half his age, a run for their money. A scion of the Akkineni family, Nagarjuna has built up on the position and goodwill that his father, the late thespian Nageswara Rao had acquired in his lifetime.

Born on August 29, 1959, in Chennai, Nagarjuna has literally been an actor all his life. He was first seen on screen as an eight-month-old toddler in his father's movie, 'Velugu Needalu'. He first featured as a child artiste in 'Sudigundalu' in 1967. And then, after a stint abroad for studies in Michigan, USA, Nagarjuna returned home to embark on a career in movies.

His debut movie, 'Vikram' a Telugu remake of Subhash Ghai's 'Hero' released in 1986 was recieved well by the masses as well as critics. But it was with 'Shiva' that Nagarjuna really came into his own. The directorial debut of Ram Gopal Varma which remains a benchmark to this day, made several careers in Tollywood.

He is among the few actors in Tollywood to play lead roles from the era of giants like late NTR, his father late ANR, Krishna, and Krishnam Raju. Even as his own sons, Naga Chaitanya, and Akhil are making a place for themselves as lead actors in Tollywood, Nagarjuna continues to flourish as a lead actor himself.

Nagarjuna may belive that the third time's the charm, at least when it comes to marriage. At present, the actor is married to his third wife, Amala Akkineni.

Nagarjuna is all about family solidarity. He was swift in his defense of his son, Naga Chaitanya, and daughter-in-law, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, when they chose to call it quits. He issued a statement in October of 2021, writing, “With a heavy heart let me say this! Whatever happened between Sam and Chay is very unfortunate. What happens between a wife and husband is very personal. Sam and Chay, both are dear to me. My family will always cherish the moments spent with Sam and she will always be dear to us. May God bless them both with strength.”