Naga Chaitanya

Naga Chaitanya (born on November 23, 1986 in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh) is an Indian film actor who has predominantly appeared in Telugu language films. His first role was in the 2009 college film, Josh, which won him awards for his portrayal although the film only won average reviews.[1] His second film, Gautham Menon's Ye Maaya Chesave became a large commercial success, with his portrayal of a love-torn film director winning him critical acclaim.
He is the son of leading Telugu actor Nagarjuna and the grandson of Akkineni Nageshwara Rao. Moroever his materal grandfather is prominent film producer, D. Ramanaidu and his uncle is another leading actor, Venkatesh.

Naga Chaitanya was born on 23 November to actor Akkineni Nagarjuna and his first wife, Lakshmi. Naga Chaitanya's grandfather, Akkineni Nageswara Rao is one of the stalwarts of Telugu cinema. Naga Chaitanya's cousins, Sumanth and Sushanth, are also film actors.[2] His maternal grandfather, D. Ramanaidu, is a famous producer in the film industry whilst his maternal uncle, Venkatesh is also one of Tollywood's biggest stars.
Naga Chaitanya was born in Hyderabad, but moved to Chennai with his mother after his parents split. His growing years were spent schooling at the PSBB School in Chennai, during which he often visited his father in Hyderabad. He played the guitar and drums occasionally for the PSBB school band. His initial interest was not in acting. He wanted to race cars and is still very good at it. However, his father convinced him otherwise and talked him into acting to keep the legacy going. He was then sent to an acting school in Mumbai, and subsequently to Hollywood Studios in California (USA) to learn dance and fights before he made his debut.[2]
[edit]Career

Following legacy led by his family in films, Naga Chaitanya's debut was widely anticipated. After several rumours regarding his debut, during the audio launch of his father's King, Chaitanya was introduced to the film world and there his debut film was launched. Josh, directed by newcomer Vasu Varma and produced by Dil Raju featured him alongside fellow debutant Karthika Nair, daughter of Radha, with his role drawing comparison with his father's character from Shiva. However upon release, the film fared averagely at the box office and received negative reviews from film critics, although Naga Chaitanya's performance saw him secure the Filmfare Best Male Debut Award for South Indian films.[2]
Prior to the release of his first film, he signed his second film with Indira Productions, which was directed by Gautham Menon and featured music by A.R.Rahman.[3] Ye Maaya Chesave released in February 2010 to unanimous positive reviews with the film being dubbed as a "classic" by reviewers, with comparisons drawn to his father's romantic film, Mani Ratnam's Geetanjali.[4] Critics also praised his on-screen chemistry with debutant actress Samantha, as the film went on to become a large commercial success at the box-office.[5] He also made a guest appearance as himself in the Tamil version of the film, Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa.
Naga Chaitanya has two films ready for release with Sukumar's 100% Love with Tamannaah Bhatia and Ajay Bhuyan's Dream Lover with Kajal Aggarwal expected to be released during Summer 2011. Furthermore he has tentatively agreed to be a part of Ram Gopal Varma's Bejawada Rowdilu and Deva Katta's Autonagar Surya.