NAGA CHAITANYA HITTING THE APEX

A thoroughbred petrolhead, a blue-blooded actor, and a meticulous food entrepreneur, Chaitanya races, cooks and crafts a legacy built on a quiet, understated discipline

- Kanaad Chatterjee

When he isn’t hurtling down a straight at 290kmph or tweaking the marinade for a cloud-kitchen bao, Naga Chaitanya is building something that defies celebrity archetypes. At 37, he’s equally an actor, a racing patron, and a food entrepreneur, and altogether disinterested in noise. Describing his current state of mind as ‘calm, happy,’ he adds that home is his ‘safest and happiest place.’ Perhaps it is also down to him stepping out of his comfort zone with Thandel and being rewarded with a career milestone that not only marked commercial success but also critical validation. The gritty, coastal-set drama, where Chaitanya sheds his usual urbane, polished persona for something earthier and more rooted, allowed audiences to witness a transformative performance. It was a risk that paid off—emotionally and financially. The film grossed over Rs 100 crore, becoming the highest-grossing movie of his career. In breaking away from the typecast of the charming city boy, Chaitanya embraced raw vulnerability and regional nuance, and in doing so, proved that his range as an actor extends far beyond familiar terrain. He exudes the understated confidence of someone deeply in tune with his evolving journey of someone who'd rather play the long game—on the track, on set, and at the dinner table.