Sai Dharam Tej

Panja Sai Durgha Tej (born 15 October 1986) is an Indian actor who works in Telugu films.

Sai Durgha Tej was born to Vijaya Durga, the younger sister of Telugu film actor-politician Chiranjeevi, on 15 October 1986.

Tej did his schooling at Chettinad Vidyashram, Chennai and Nalanda School, Hyderabad and completed his graduation from St. Mary's College, Hyderabad.

Actors Ram Charan, Varun Tej and Niharika Konidela are Tej's cousins.

His younger brother Vaisshnav Tej is also an actor.

Pawan Kalyan and Nagendra Babu are his maternal uncles.

Actors Allu Arjun and Allu Sirish and their father, Allu Aravind are related by marriage through Chiranjeevi.

A member of the prominent Allu–Konidela family, he made his acting debut with the box office success Pilla Nuvvu Leni Jeevitham (2014) for which he received SIIMA Award for Best Male Debut and CineMAA Awards Best Male Debut.

Tej made his film debut with Pilla Nuvvu Leni Jeevitham, opposite Regina Cassandra in 2014.

The film was a hit at the box office.

Times of India noted, "Sai Durgha Tej’s rustic charm makes his actions believable. The actor is particularly quite impressive with his dance moves".

Deccan Chronicle stated, "Sai Durgha Tej delivers a mature performance. He entertains throughout the film with his performance and he has done this quite comfortably."

He received SIIMA Award for Best Male Debut - Telugu for his performance.

He starred alongside Regina Cassandra, for the second time, after Pilla Nuvvu Leni Jeevitham (2014).

Although various critics called it "routine", Tej's portrayal was cited as "improved performance", "spontaneous", and "stunning".

Tej's action comedy Supreme which released the following year, was also financially successful and is one of his best movies.

Post his debut, Tej appeared in films such as Subramanyam for Sale (2015) and Supreme (2016), which were box office successes.

Back-to-back critical and commercial failures followed this.

Tej had two releases in 2015.

His first film was Rey where he portrayed Rock opposite Saiyami Kher.

123telugu said, "Sai Durgha Tej’s electrifying performance is the major asset of this film."

Tej's second release in 2015 was Subramanyam for Sale, which was successful at the box office, grossing over ₹33.95 crore.

Tej's 15th film, Virupaksha, a socio-fantasy thriller directed by Karthik Varma Dandu of Bham Bolenath fame, opened to generally positive reviews and became the highest-grossing film of his career.

Following Supreme, Tej went onto star in five films (in lead), including Thikka (2016), Winner (2017), Jawaan (2017), Inttelligent (2018) and Tej I Love You (2018).

Tej was criticized for selecting similar and regular stories in his films.

Tej then went onto establish himself with successful films Chitralahari (2019) and Prati Roju Pandage (both 2019), Solo Brathuke So Better (2020) and Republic (2021).

His highest grossing release came with Virupaksha (2023).

Chitralahari was his first release of 2019.

The film was a box office success with critics praising his performance and Tej giving one of his career best performances.

The Times of India had called the character Vijay in the film, the best in Tej's career so far.

About his role in the film, Deccan Chronicle reported "Sai Tej has put on weight and with a beard looks fresh and fits the character. For this role, he has completely set aside his mass image".

His next film of the year, Prati Roju Pandage was also successful.

Murali Krishna CH of The New Indian Express in his review of the film, wrote that "The film definitely Sai Tej’s canvas and he delivers his standard chops with flamboyance".

Later in 2020, his film Solo Brathuke So Better was released following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite the restriction of 50% occupancy in cinemas, the film was successful at the box office.

Idlebrain's Jeevi appreciated Tej's performance, particularly his comedy timing and acting in the emotional scenes of the film.

In contrast, Y Sunita Chowdhary of The Hindu opined that "Tej could have benefited from a better script."

In his next film Republic (2021), directed by Deva Katta, Tej played the role of an IAS officer.

The film, a political drama, opened to positive reviews, with critics calling his performance "matured" and the film was well received by audience and became a 'hit'.

Prakash Pecheti of Telangana Today stated: "Republic surely adds a cap in the feather for Sai Dharam Tej."