Ram Charan

In her article for Film Companion, Alekhya Devarakonda compared his character to Howard Roark of 1943 novel The Fountainhead.

Konidela Ram Charan (born 27 March 1985) is an Indian actor, producer, and entrepreneur who primarily works in Telugu cinema.

Ram Charan was born in Madras (now Chennai) in a Telugu family to Telugu film actor Chiranjeevi and his wife Surekha on 27 March 1985.

Ram Charan's family hails from Mogalthuru and Palakollu in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh.

His maternal grandfather was the noted comic actor Allu Ramalingaiah.

He has two siblings — an older sister Sushmitha and younger sister Sreeja.

Ram Charan was educated at Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan, Chennai, Lawrence School, Lovedale, The Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet, and at the St. Mary's College, Hyderabad.

He also attended Kishore Namit Kapoor's acting school in Mumbai.

Charan made his acting debut with the action film Chirutha (2007), a box office hit, winning the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut – South.

In 2007, Charan made his film debut as the leading actor in Chirutha, an action film directed by Puri Jagannadh which completed 50 days in 178 direct cinemas and 15 other shifted cinemas.

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 the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut – South and the Nandi Special Jury 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 of its release, winning the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu.

After the release of his second film, the fantasy film Magadheera (2009), 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."

Charan starred in Bommarillu Bhaskar's urban romance 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 try to stick to stardom and is not willing to repeat the mistakes performed by other stars.

Over the years, it became a cult film and received appreciation from the audience.

He went on to star in notable films such as Racha (2012), Naayak (2013), Yevadu (2014), Govindudu Andarivadele (2014), and Dhruva (2016).

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.

Racha's final share for its distributors was inr 450000000.

His performance in the film earned him acting nominations at the Filmfare and SIIMA award ceremonies.

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 criticised 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."

He is one of the highest-paid actors in Indian cinema and has 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.

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 the Nandi Special Jury Award for Charan.

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 was a co-owner of the airline service TruJet.

He is the son of actor Chiranjeevi.

Charan achieved further commercial success with the blockbusters Rangasthalam (2018), winning his second Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu, and RRR (2022), which currently ranks as the third-highest-grossing Indian film of all time and his highest grosser.

Charan emerged as a pan-Indian star with RRR and earned international recognition, including a nomination at the Critics' Choice Super Awards for Best Actor in an Action Movie.