Senior actor Nagarjuna's son Akhil Akkineni seems to be following the footsteps of Ram Charan and megastar Chiranjeevi, as he recently embarked on a spiritual journey, by taking Ayyappa Deeksha.
Ayyappa Deeksha is a Hindu religious observance for 41 days by the devotees of Swamy Ayyappa before visiting the Temple on Sabarimala in Kerala. The devotees wear Ayyappa Mala, black clothes, do not save crop their hair, walk barefooted, chant hymns, observe chastity and remain harmless in principle before visiting the temple.
Not just common men, but also some celebs from the film industry have taken Ayyappa Deeksha in the past. Ram Charan, Sharwanand, Manchu Manoj, Chiranjeevi, Shivaji, Rajendra Prasad, Sumanth, Simbu, Vivek Oberoi and Sarath Babu are some the celebs, who have done this religious observance.
If we are to go by social media, Akhil Akkineni is the last celeb from the Telugu film industry to undertake this stringent ritual. Nagarjuna's younger son Akhil is seen dressed in the customary black in the photo that is doing rounds on social media. "He is doing it in a completely devotional way and follows the strict diet too," Deccan Chronicle says a source close to Akhil.
Akhil's grandfather, late Akkineni Nageshwara Rao believed in god but was not known to perform pujas or observe religious rituals. Nagarjuna and the rest of the family followed his lead till now. "The young actor (Akhil) has changed a lot during this lockdown and has decided to take up this deeksha following the advice of friends," added the source.
Like every other star kind, Akhil Akkineni also made his debut as hero with VV Vinayak's 2015 movie titled Akhil, which bombed at the box office. He played the lead in two other big-ticket movies like Hello (2017) and Mr Majnu (2019), but also failed to give him a big break of his break. Now he is gearing up to release his fourth film Most Eligible Bachelor and he has pinned a lot of hopes on it.
After seeing his photos, a fan tweeted, "@AkhilAkkineni8's #Spirituality quest! Looks like #akhilakkineni, whose career needs a major fillip, has embarked on a spiritual journey. Going by a picture doing the rounds, it's evident that he has taken to Ayyappa deeksha. He is believed to be finding the practice peaceful."
