Akhil Akkineni, the younger son of Tollywood superstar Nagarjuna, deactivated his Instagram comments hours after announcing his engagement with girlfriend Zainab Ravdjee, on Tuesday. The couple received hate for the age difference between the two and also for belonging to different religions.

On Tuesday, Akhil took everyone by surprised as he announced that he is now engaged to Zainab. "Found my forever... Happy to announce that Zainab Ravdjee and I are happily engaged (sic)," he wrote.

While congratulatory wishes poured in for the couple on social media, a bunch of netizens also trolled them for the massive age difference between the two. For those unversed, Zainab is nine years older to Akhil.

Some trolls also dropped comments under other posts of Akhil, criticising him for the interfaith relationship with Zainab. "You guys are spoiling the overall welfare of the culture and India (sic)," a user wrote, while another quipped, "South's Priyanka and Nick."

While Akhil did not respond to the hate messages, he simply deactivated the comments section under the engagement post to avoid the barrage of hate coming the soon-to-be-wed couple's way.

On Tuesday, Nagarjuna welcomed Zainab into his family with a heartfelt post on social media. Sharing a picture of Akhil and Zainab on X, he wrote, "We are thrilled to announce the engagement of our son, @AkhilAkkineni8, to our daughter in law to be Zainab Ravdjee! We couldn't be happier to welcome Zainab into our family. Please join us to congratulate the young couple and wish them a lifetime filled with love, joy, and your countless blessings (sic)."

Akhil and Zainab's engagement announcement comes days before the former's half brother Naga Chaitanya's wedding with actress Sobhita Dhulipala. The two are set to tie the knot in a traditional ceremony on December 4.