The Akkineni household is set for another major celebration, as actor Akhil Akkineni prepares to marry Zainab Ravdjee on 6 June at Annapurna Studios in Hyderabad. This follows the relatively quiet wedding of his brother, Naga Chaitanya, with actor Sobhita Dhulipala late last year.
Unlike Chaitanya’s intimate ceremony, Akhil’s wedding is shaping up to be a grand event with a long guest list that includes political leaders and film industry insiders. Akhil's parents, actors Nagarjuna and Amala, have taken the lead in planning the festivities. Zainab, who is both an artist and a perfumer, has been in a steady relationship with Akhil for a while, and the couple got engaged in November 2024 at a private gathering at their Jubilee Hills residence.
Political and film bigwigs expected at the wedding
Nagarjuna has personally visited top political leaders to extend wedding invitations, including Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu and Telangana CM Revanth Reddy. He was accompanied by Amala and Zainab’s parents during the meetings. With both political and entertainment circles expected to attend, the wedding is likely to be one of the year’s most talked-about events in Telugu cinema circles.
Naga Chaitanya and Sobhita, who had gone on a short vacation to celebrate her birthday on 31 May, were spotted returning to Hyderabad just in time for the pre-wedding festivities.
Who is Zainab Ravdjee?
Zainab, the bride-to-be, is not from the film world but has a creative background. She is an abstract artist and also runs a popular perfume blog, Once Upon the Skin. Based in Mumbai, she hails from a respected business family in Hyderabad. She also briefly appeared in M.F. Hussain’s Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities.
Meanwhile, Akhil is gearing up for his next film, Lenin, co-starring Sreeleela. Directed by Kishore Abburu, the film marks his return after the underwhelming performance of Agent. As he steps into a new chapter personally and professionally, fans await both his wedding and his cinematic comeback.
