Amala Akkineni says she became close to stepson Naga Chaitanya only after he grew up: ‘His mother was in Chennai’

Amala Akkineni on Naga Chaitanya

Amala was asked what kind of influence she had as a parent on both Chaitanya and Akhil. She said, “Chaitanya was a young man when I really got to know him because his mother used to live in Chennai. He grew up there. He came to Hyderabad only for college. Of course, I was very much in touch with him, but I really got to know him when he moved to Hyderabad. Lovely human being. He has maturity and wisdom beyond his age. Very responsible. He is the kind of person who has never made mistakes and has always listened to his father. So, he always had his own planning and thought.”

She then spoke about Akhil Akkineni, the son she shares with Nagarjuna and added, “Akhil, of course, is my son, and I had a lot of influence on him. We brought up our boys to be very independent. They have been taught to make decisions for themselves from a young age. They have been taught to make decisions and move on with them, not be a cat on the wall. When we encouraged they were able to face their own success and failures. They grew up beautifully. They had the love and support of not just the family, but the audience, too. They have been able to learn from both the good times and the bad times.”

About Nagarjuna’s family

Nagarjuna is the son of the legendary late Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Annapurna. He married the daughter of the late producer D Ramanaidu and the sister of actor Venkatesh and producer Suresh Babu, Lakshmi Daggubati, in 1984. Their son Naga Chaitanya was born in 1986. Nagarjuna and Lakshmi divorced in 1990, and he married Amala in 1992. Their son Akhil was born in 1994. Chaitanya is married to Sobhita Dhulipala, while Akhil is married to artist Zainab Ravdjee.