Ram Charan

Konidela Ram Charan Teja (born 27 March 1985) is an Indian actor, producer, and entrepreneur who works in Telugu-language films. One of the highest-paid actors in Telugu cinema, he has been featured in Forbes India‘s Celebrity 100 list since 2013. Charan is the recipient of several awards, including three Filmfare Awards and two Nandi Awards.

Son of actor Chiranjeevi, Charan made his debut in the successful action film Chirutha (2007), for which he won the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut – South. He rose to prominence with S. S. Rajamouli’s fantasy action film Magadheera (2009), which held the record of being the highest-grossing Telugu film. He won several accolades for this film, including the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu.

Charan established himself as a leading Telugu film actor with commercially successful films such as Racha (2012), Naayak (2013), Yevadu (2014), Dhruva (2016) and Rangasthalam (2018), the latter being his highest-grosser. Receiving critical acclaim for his performance in Rangasthalam, he won his second Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu.

In 2016, Charan established his own production house, the Konidela Production Company. 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 background

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. 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. He was educated at Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan, Chennai, Lawrence School, Lovedale, The Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet and at St. Mary’s College, Hyderabad.

Film career

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 centers and 15 other shifted centers. The film completed 100 days in 40 direct centers. He played the role of Charan, an ex-convict who is hell-bent on killing the murderer of his father. 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, which was only his second film, directed by S. S. Rajamouli, Charan established himself as one of the leading contemporary actors of Tollywood. He played dual roles in this film in which one is a brave soldier of a kingdom in Rajasthan in the 17th century in love with the princess but loses her and dies, the other a bike racer who falls in love with a girl who is the reincarnation of the princess and wins her knowing their past. His portrayal got immense critical acclaim. The Times of India wrote: “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.” The film received six Filmfare Awards including the award for Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu and Nandi Special Jury Award for Charan.

Charan starred in Bommarillu Bhaskar’s Orange in 2010 as Ram, an NRI living in Australia whose opinions are against loving forever. IndiaGlitz wrote: “Ram Charan gave an excellent performance all through the film. His attire, makeup, dressing style, accessories, and body language give the audiences a fresh feel of an urbane guy. He improved a lot in all the departments including action, dances, dialogue modulation, body language.”

His next film was Racha, directed by Sampath Nandi. He did the role of Betting Raj, a gambler whose life takes a toll on him. 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.

His first release in 2013 was Naayak, directed by V. V. Vinayak. He played another dual role, one a mafia leader in Kolkata and the other a simple software employee in Hyderabad. The Times of India wrote: “Ram Charan did a great job, though there was no variation shown between the two characters.” It opened to positive critical acclaim and became a commercial success.

Charan made his Bollywood debut alongside Priyanka Chopra in 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, in the album Thoofan, the Telugu version of Zanjeer.

In his next Telugu film, Yevadu (2014), directed by Vamshi Paidipally, he plays two characters, one who has received a face transplant of the other and becomes the target of underworld gangs because of the mistaken identity. Bangalore Mirror wrote: “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.” Sify wrote: “Compared to his earlier films – Nayak and Thoofan, Ram Charan has done a fairly good job here. His acting is effective in intense scenes and action episode. To satisfy his audiences, he has also done some good steps in the Freedom song.”

His next release in the same year was the family drama Govindudu Andarivadele. The film opened to mostly positive reviews from critics and grossed over ₹40 crore (equivalent to ₹51 crore or US$7.2 million in 2019) at the box office.

His next film was Bruce Lee where he played the role of a stuntman who gets involved in a scuffle. It wasn’t a success due to its weak narration and comedy.

His next film Dhruva (2016), where he played as an IPS officer, is a commercial success. Times of India wrote: “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.”

In 2018, he appeared in the Sukumar’s directorial Rangasthalam. He received particular praise for his performance as Chitti Babu, a semi-deaf. The film is a huge commercial success, becoming the highest-grossing Telugu film of that year.

In 2019, he starred alongside Kiara Advani and Vivek Oberoi in the action film Vinaya Vidheya Rama, directed by Boyapati Srinu. As a result of the film’s failure at the box office, Charan wrote an open apology to his fans.

He produced his father Chiranjeevi’s 150th film Khaidi No. 150 (2017) and Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy (2019) under his studio Konidela Production Company.

As of January 2021, Charan is a part of two upcoming films. He is playing Alluri Sitarama Raju in S. S. Rajamouli’s directorial RRR (2021), co-starring N. T. Rama Rao Jr. He is also playing a piviotal role in the Chiranjeevi-starrer Acharya (2021) directed by Koratala Siva, which he is also co-producing with Matinee Entertainment. He has also signed to collaborate with director S. Shankar under the production of Dil Raju’s Sri Venkateswara Creations.

Other work

Charan is an equestrian and entrepreneur. He owns the polo team Ram Charan Hyderabad Polo Riding Club. He also served on the board of directors of Maa TV. In 2009, he became a spokesperson for Pepsi’s advertisement campaigns.

In early July 2015, he started his own Hyderabad-based airline business called TruJet. He is also the spokesman and co-owner of the obstacle running series Devil’s Circuit.

Personal life

Charan got engaged to Upasana Kamineni, the vice-chairman of Apollo Charity and Chief Editor of B Positive magazine, in Hyderabad on 1 December 2011. Upasana is the granddaughter of Prathap C. Reddy, the Executive Chairman of the Apollo Hospitals. Subsequently, they got married on 14 June 2012 at the Temple Trees Farm House.

Filmography

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2007	Chirutha	Charan	Debut film
2009	Magadheera	Kala Bhairava / Harsha
2010	Orange	Ram
2012	Racha	Betting Raj
2013	Naayak	Charan “Cherry” / Siddharth Naayak
	Zanjeer/Thoofan	ACP Vijay Khanna	Shot in Hindi and Telugu. The Telugu title was Thoofan. Charan was also a playback singer in the song “Mumbai Ke Hero”
2014	Yevadu	Charan / Satya
	Govindudu Andarivadele	Abhiram
2015	Bruce Lee: The Fighter	Karthik / Bruce Lee / IB Officer Vikram Kumar
2016	Dhruva	Dhruva
2017	Khaidi No. 150	Himself	Special appearance, also a producer
2018	Rangasthalam	Chelluboina Chitti Babu
2019	Vinaya Vidheya Rama	Konidela Ram
	Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy	N/A	Producer
2021	Acharya	Siddha	Filming, also producer
	RRR	Alluri Sitarama Raju	Filming

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Film	Result	Ref(s)
2008	Nandi Awards	Special Jury Award	Chirutha	Won
2010		Special Jury Award	Magadheera	Won
2008	Filmfare Awards South	Best Male Debut – South	Chirutha	Won
2010		Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu	Magadheera	Won
2012			Racha	Nominated
2013			Naayak	Nominated
2016			Dhruva	Nominated
2019			Rangasthalam	Won
2019	8th South Indian International Movie Awards	SIIMA Award for Best Actor (Telugu)		Won
2010	Santosham Film Awards	Santosham Best Actor Award	Magadheera	Won
2015		Santosham Best Actor Award	Govindudu Andarivadele	Won
2016	Ritz Icon Awards	Most Admired Celebrity Icon Award	—	Won
2016	Asiavision Awards	Youth Icon Of India	—	Won
2014	TSR – TV9 National Film Awards	Best Hero	Naayak	Won
2016		Special Jury Best Actor Award	Dhruva	Won
2010	CineMAA Awards	Best Actor – Male	Magadheera	Won
2019	Zee Cine Awards Telugu 2018	Best Actor in Leading Role – Male	Rangasthalam	Won