Ram Charan

Konidela Ram Charan Teja (born 27 March 1985) is an Indian actor, producer, and entrepreneur who works predominantly in Telugu films. One of the highest-paid Telugu film actors, he is the recipient of three Filmfare Awards and two Nandi Awards. Since 2013, he has featured in ''Forbes India''s Celebrity 100 list.

Charan made his acting debut with ''Chirutha'' (2007), a box office hit, winning the Filmfare Best Male Debut Award. He rose to prominence starring in S. S. Rajamouli's fantasy action film ''Magadheera'' (2009), the highest-grossing Telugu film of all time at the time, winning the Filmfare Best Actor Award. His notable works include ''Racha'' (2012), ''Naayak'' (2013), ''Yevadu'' (2014), ''Govindudu Andarivadele'' (2014), and ''Dhruva'' (2016). Charan then starred in the blockbusters ''Rangasthalam'' (2018), winning his second Filmfare Best Actor Award, and ''RRR'' (2022), that collected over .

In 2016, Charan launched his own production house Konidela Production Company, which has notably backed ''Khaidi No. 150'' (2017) and ''Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy'' (2019). Beyond his film career, he owns the polo team Hyderabad Polo and Riding Club and co-owns the regional airline service TruJet.

Early life and family

Ram Charan was born in Madras (now Chennai) to Telugu film actor Chiranjeevi and his wife Surekha on 27 March 1985. He has two sisters: Sushmitha and Sreeja. He is the grandson of Allu Ramalingaiah and the nephew of Nagendra Babu, Pawan Kalyan, and Allu Aravind. He is the cousin of Allu Arjun, Varun Tej, Sai Dharam Tej, Allu Sirish, Niharika Konidela, and Panja Vaisshnav Tej.

Ram Charan was educated at Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan, Chennai, Lawrence School, Lovedale, The Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet, and then at the St. Mary's College, Hyderabad. He also attended Kishore Namit Kapoor's acting school in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Acting career

2007–2009: Debut and breakthrough

In 2007, Charan made his film debut as the leading actor in ''Chirutha'', which was directed by Puri Jagannadh and completed 50 days in 178 direct movie theaters and 15 other shifted movie theaters. He played the role of Charan, an ex-convict seeking to kill his father's murderer. ''Rediff.com'' praised his performance, stating: "Ram Charan is quite promising. Dance and action appear to be forte. He is rather graceful in the dance numbers. He also stays clear of any oblique reference to his star father by way of dialogue or adopting any particular mannerism or style." His performance in the film earned him a Filmfare Best South Debutant Award and Nandi Special Jury Award.

After the release of the 2009 film ''Magadheera'', his second film, Charan established himself as one of the leading contemporary actors in Tollywood. The film, in which he played dual roles, was directed by S. S. Rajamouli, and Charan's performance was critically acclaimed. ''The Times of India'' stated that "Ram Charan returns as a valiant soldier and breathes life into the larger-than-life role with ease. He showcases his horse-riding and dancing skills to perfection." ''IndiaGlitz'' commented: "Charan has come up with a mature performance and he has carried the film very well. Both his characters were done justice, and he reminded of his father at many places." ''Magadheera'' grossed over ₹150 crores worldwide and held the record of being the highest-grossing Telugu film until 2013 before it was surpassed by ''Attarintiki Daredi''. The film received six Filmfare Awards including two awards – Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu and Nandi Special Jury Award for Charan.

2010–2013: Career fluctuations

Charan starred in Bommarillu Bhaskar's urban romantic film ''Orange'' in 2010 as Ram, a NRI living in Australia. Although the film didn't perform well at the box office, critics praised the storyline and performance by Charan. Jeevi of ''Idlebrain'' felt that Charan didn't tried to stick to stardom and is not willing to repeat the mistakes performed by stars. Over the years, it became a cult film and received appreciation from the audience. In her article for ''Film Companion'', Alekhya Devarakonda compared his character to Howard Roark of 1943 novel ''The Fountainhead''. Following a year-long absence from the screen, he next appeared in ''Racha'' (2012), directed by Sampath Nandi. He played the role of "Betting Raj", a gambler. The film completed a 100-day run in 38 centres across Andhra Pradesh on 13 July 2012. ''Rachas'' final share for its distributors was ''.'' His performance in the film brought two nominations, including Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu and SIIMA Award for Best Actor (Telugu). ''Sify'' stated, "Both, actor Ram Charan and his director Sampath Nandi play a safe game by following the same pattern of earlier mass-masala movies." Radhika Rajamani of ''Rediff'' criticized the plot of the film, but praised Charan's performance in action sequences and dance moves. ''IndiaGlitz'' wrote: "He shows flashes of Chiru-ness more than he ever did in the past; be it his baritone or demeanor, he is a Megastar in effect. Helped by a strong script, he could have been much better." The film was released on 5 April 2012 and was declared a commercial success.

Charan had two films released in 2013. His first release was ''Naayak'', directed by V. V. Vinayak, in which he played dual role, once again after ''Magadheera''. Writing to ''The Times of India,'' Karthik Pasupulate wrote that "Ram Charan did a great job, though there was no variation shown between the two characters." It opened to mixed critical acclaim and became a commercial success. The film brought him two nominations, Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu and SIIMA Award for Best Actor (Telugu), once again, with a Best Actor award at TSR –TV9 National Film Awards. The same year he made his Hindi cinema debut alongside Priyanka Chopra in the Telugu-Hindi bilingual film '' Zanjeer'', a remake of the 1973 film of the same name. He played the role of ACP Vijay Khanna who swears vengeance on his parents' killer. Charan made his debut as a playback singer with the song "Mumbai Ke Hero", composed by Chirrantan Bhatt, from the album ''Thoofan'', the Telugu version of ''Zanjeer''. ''Rediff'' called it as "an unforgivably bad remake." Film critic Rajeev Masand criticized his performance writing that he "comes off as stiff as a wax statue in his Bollywood debut, with barely any emotion, forget brooding anger." Amid huge expectations, the film became a box-office bomb. Following the film's box-office performance and critics reviews, Charan decided not to feature again in a Hindi film.

2014–2015: Continued career

The following year saw Charan with two releases. ''Yevadu'' (2014), directed by Vamshi Paidipally is the third film in which he played the dual role, one who has received a face transplant of the other and becomes the target of underworld gangs because of the mistaken identity. The Central Board of Film Certification gave the film an 'A' certificate because of its violent action sequences. ''Bangalore Mirror'' wrote that "For Ram Charan, ''Yevadu'' is essential to establish his status after ''Thoofan'' tanked at the box office. His character has two shades, and he tries his best to bring variations. He dances like there is no tomorrow and the choreography is a delight to watch." A critic of ''Sify'' compared Charan's performance to his earlier films – ''Nayak'' and ''Thoofan'' and commented that he has done a fairly good job here. Y. Sunita Chowdhary of ''The Hindu'' felt that Charan did well in the dance sequences than his acting in the role.

His second release of the same year was the family drama ''Govindudu Andarivadele''. The film features him as a NRI from the United Kingdom. The film opened to mostly positive reviews from critics, and grossed over at the box office. Sangeetha Devi Dundoo commented that he has done best performance after the film ''Magadheera.'' Similarly Suresh Kaviyarani of the ''Deccan Chronicle'' too praised him and cited Charan's performance as "good" and "subtle".

He next played an IB Officer and a stunt performer in the Srinu Vaitla's action comedy film '' Bruce Lee: The Fighter'' (2015). Charan hired Priyanka Chopra's trainer Samir Jaura in mid-July 2014 to get into shape for this film by following an intensive training program designed by Jaura, lasting for four-five months along with a strict diet. He also began learning Karate for his role in mid May 2015. For the role, he sported a tattoo of Bruce Lee on his hand. The film collected more than 12.66 crore, on its opening day, registering the highest opening day collection of Ram Charan's film. Over days the film didn't performed well at the box office and was declared as a box-office bomb, with a budget of 60 crore. Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of ''The Hindu'' once again criticized Charan's performance and wrote that "Charan dances like a dream, as always, and shows marked improvement as an actor. But what he needs is a project that will not belittle the huge fan base in the garb of masala."

2016–2018: ''Rangasthalam'' and commercial success

He next appeared in 2016 the action thriller film ''Dhruva'' (2016), where he played as an IPS officer. The film follows the story of Dhruva, an IPS officer who wants to arrest Siddharth Abhimanyu (played by Arvind Swami), a wealthy scientist, who uses secret medical and illegal practices for profit. A remake of the Tamil film ''Thani Oruvan'' (2015), the film opened to positive reviews and is a commercial success at the box office, collecting over in 21 days. Krishna Vamsi of ''The Indian Express'' wrote that "From his physique to his fights, he makes you hark back to ''Magadheera''." ''The Times of India'''s Srividya Palaparthi added "Ram Charan looks his fittest best. As an actor, Ram Charan impresses in all the scenes that required high emotion. And as for the scenes where he had to be elevated as the hero, they will not disappoint his fans." He performed his own stunts in the film. Charan made a cameo appearance in "Ammadu Let's Do Kummudu" song from the film ''Khaidi No. 150'' (2017)'','' alongside his father Chiranjeevi, Devi Sri Prasad, and Kajal Aggarwal. The film is a comeback of his father into the mainstream cinema after ''Shankar Dada Zindabad'' (2007).

In 2018, he appeared in the Sukumar's directed period action-drama ''Rangasthalam.'' He received particular praise for his performance as Chitti Babu, a semi-deaf Several critics cited his performance as career-best". The film is a huge commercial success, becoming the highest-grossing Telugu film of that year, with a gross collection of over 216 crores. Set in the 1980s in the Konaseema region of Andhra Pradesh, the film explores various themes including caste-based honour killings, brahminical patriarchy and good versus evil. The film was featured on several year-end best films' charts. Nagarjuna Rao of ''Gulf News'' wrote that "There comes a career-best for all actors at some point of time. ''Rangasthalam'' could well be Ram Charan's" Subhash K. Jha of ''The Free Press Journal'' commented Teja transforms in front of our eyes, adding "It is almost like watching a magic show where the entire appearance of the actor undergoes a sea change as we gawk in open-mouthed amazement." After a long time, Ram Charan won several accolades including Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu and SIIMA Award for Best Actor – Telugu. In her article ''5 Best Performances of Ram Charan'' ''Teja'', S Behara of ''The Indian Express'' included Charan's performances in the films ''Chirutha'' (2007), ''Magadheera'' (2009), ''Orange'' (2010), ''Dhruva'' (2016) and ''Rangasthalam'' (2018). In March 2018, Rajamouli confirmed that Charan would feature as one of the leads alongside N. T. Rama Rao Jr. in his next film.

2019–present: Career expansion

He next appeared in the action film ''Vinaya Vidheya Rama'' (2019)'','' directed by Boyapati Srinu, alongside Kiara Advani and Vivek Oberoi. The film opened to negative reviews, receiving criticism for the improper action scenes and screenplay, consequently didn't perform well at the box office. Writing for ''The Hindu'', Sangeetha Devi stated: "Whatever made Ram Charan sign up for this loud, mind-numbing film after ''Rangasthalam?'' ". ''India Today'''s Janani K felt that, Charan need to start from scratch due to the film. As a result of the film's failure at the box office, Charan wrote an open apology to his fans.

The same year, in March, it was revealed that he is playing Alluri Sitarama Raju in S. S. Rajamouli's directorial ''RRR'' (2022), co-starring N. T. Rama Rao Jr. He starred alongside his father Chiranjeevi in ''Acharya'' (2022) directed by Koratala Siva, which he also co-produced with Matinee Entertainment. Chiranjeevi confirmed that Charan would be doing the role in June 2020. In February 2021, he signed a film with director S. Shankar, tentatively titled as RC15, under the production of Dil Raju's Sri Venkateswara Creations. The filming is scheduled to complete by the end of December.

Other work

Charan is an equestrian. ''The Hans India'' reported that he had learnt horse-riding in his childhood. In September 2011, he started his own the polo team Ram Charan Hyderabad Polo Riding Club.Abhishek Raj
Ram Charan Tej's polo team wins its debut match
The Times of India. 3 September 2011. Retrieved on 3 August 2011 He also served on the board of directors of Maa TV. In 2009, he became a spokesperson for Pepsi's advertisement campaigns.

Turbo Megha Airways Private Limited was incorporated in March 2013, with Charan and Vankayalapati Umesh as promoters. In early July 2015, the airline adopted the brand name ''TruJet''. It received its air operator's certificate for regional operations from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation on 7 July 2015. He is also the spokesman and co-owner of the obstacle running series Devil's circuit.

Charan started his own film production company Konidela Production Company in 2016. The first film produced from the studio is his father Chiranjeevi's 150th film ''Khaidi No. 150'' (2017). The film grossed over 164 crore at the box office, on a budget of 50 crore. Following the success of the film, he again collaborated with his father and produced ''Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy'' (2019) with a production budget of ₹270–300 crore. The same year he announced his third film ''Acharya'' as the producer. The film marks his third collaboration with his father and second collaboration with Kajal Aggarwal, as a producer.

Philanthropy

He often organizes blood donation camps. On 26 May 2021, Charan launched oxygen banks along with his father Chiranjeevi, through Chiranjeevi Charitable Trust. Started initially in Anantapur and Guntur districts of Andhra Pradesh, they were later launched various other regions in India, including Telangana. These were launched due to the shortage of Oxygen cylinders, ventilators and concentrators, during the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic in India.

Personal life

Ram Charan is married to Upasana Kamineni, the vice-chairman of Apollo Charity and Chief Editor of ''B Positive'' magazine. Kamineni is the daughter of Shobana Kamineni and the granddaughter of Prathap C. Reddy, the Executive Chairman of the Apollo Hospitals. They were engaged in December 2011, and subsequently married on 14 June 2012 at the Temple Trees Farm House in Hyderabad. According to an article published by the ''NewsX,'' both Charan and Kamineni were friends until ninth grade in the same school at Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

Religious beliefs

Ram Charan takes part in the 41-days-long Ayyappa Deeksha (Vratham), which is done on a yearly basis in Sabarimala, Kerala. He started this practice since 2008. Charan stated that "this spiritual living is like a detox holiday for him to de-stress, take healthy and simple food and maintaining inner peace from his chaotic shooting schedules and uncertain mundane things" and said that his father Chiranjeevi had inspired him in following the ''deeksha''.

In the media

Charan was featured in '' GQ'' India's Best Dressed Men list in 2016. He is popularly referred as the "Mega Power Star" in the media. The title is the combination of "Mega Star" f his father Chiranjeeviand "Power Star" [of his Uncle Pawan Kalyan]. He has appeared in ''Forbes India'''s Celebrity 100 list since 2013. He was ranked twelfth on the Times' 50 Most Desirable Men for the year 2012, twenty-third in 2013, thirtieth in 2014, thirty-eighth in 2015. After a break of three years, he was again featured on the list in 2019 at eighteenth position.

At an event held in January 2016 in Hyderabad, novelist Yandamuri Veerendranath commented that "Charan is surviving on his father Chiranjeevi' s popularity". Upon the release of Japanese dubbed version of ''Magadheera'' in Japan, Charan received wide popularity in the region. Japanese food company Ezaki Glico printed Charan's photo on their biscuit packets. Belonging to a film family, he admitted that "No two people are born with the same calibre and can achieve the same stardom", regarding Nepotism in the film industry. Raveena Tandon said that " Yash, Prabhas and Ram Charan are now pan-Indian names".

Filmography

As an actor

As a producer

Accolades

Notes

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Charan, Ram
21st-century Indian male actors
Filmfare Awards South winners
Film producers from Hyderabad, India
Living people
Male actors in Hindi cinema
Indian male film actors
Telugu male actors
1985 births
Nandi Award winners
Male actors from Hyderabad, India
Telugu film producers
Male actors in Telugu cinema
South Indian International Movie Awards winners
CineMAA Awards winners
Zee Cine Awards Telugu winners
Male actors from Andhra Pradesh
Indian male actors
Santosham Film Awards winners