| He was born into a poor farming family. Like many other actors of the era, he started out in theater, often taking the roles of female characters because it was considered a social taboo for women to appear on the stage. |
| He helped relocate the Telugu film industry from its former base in Madras (now Chennai) to Hyderabad. He built his own movie studio in 1975, naming it Annapurna Studios after his wife. His move spurred several Telugu film studios to relocate to Hyderabad, which now is home to the second biggest film industry in India, behind Bollywood. |
| Father of actor Nagarjuna Akkineni. |
| Was awarded the prestigious Raghupathy Venkaiah award by the State Government of Andhra Pradesh for his outstanding contribution to Telugu cinema in 1989. |
| Was awarded Dadasaheb Phalke award by the Government of India for his outstanding contribution to Indian Cinema. |
| Was awarded Padmasri and Padmabhushan by the Government of India. |
| Telugu megastar. |