×
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

A natural on screen

TELUGU CINEMA
Last Updated 22 November 2014, 18:54 IST

It is a fallacious notion in tinseltown that star sons have stardom delivered to them on a platter. At the most, all that they can expect is a launch pad and once that is done, it is entirely up to them to either sink or swim. Ram Charan, the son of Tollywood’s megastar Chiranjeevi, has proved that he is a chip off the old block and can be counted on to take his father’s legacy forward.


Affectionately called Cherry, Ram Charan has however been fortunate to have a producer uncle in Allu Aravind, who bankrolled the actor’s biggest hit Magadheera, his second film after his sensational debut in the Puri Jagannadh directed Chirutha.

The action hero

Ram Charan entered the world of films after training in martial arts and also taking dance lessons from reputed gurus. The actor made his debut in Chirutha, essaying the role of an ex-convict on the trail of his father’s killers. The film offered him enough scope to showcase his fight and dance skills. Chirutha had a good run at the box-office and was even dubbed in Tamil and Malayalam. Meanwhile, Magadheera, directed by the man with the Midas touch, S S Rajamouli, featured Ram Charan in a dual role — a stuntman, who is haunted by visions of a previous life. The actor’s performance brought back nostalgic memories of his father Chiranjeevi. An out-and-out commercial potboiler, the film consolidated Ram Charan’s position in the industry as an action star who could also hold his own in the histrionics department. The film swept the Filmfare awards for Telugu films that year and also won Ram Charan the Best Actor Award.

Ram Charan’s other films, Orange and Rachcha, found him in varied roles of an NRI living in Australia and an inveterate gambler. These films, however, had nothing much to offer audiences as they were routine masala entertainers. However, Ram Charan once again stormed the movie halls with the V V Vinayak directed Nayak, where he once again essayed a double role, that of a mafia don in Kolkata, and a software engineer in
Hyderabad. With Kajal Agarwal and Amala Paul playing the lead roles, the film had its usual quota of songs and dances, not to mention the stunt sequences which enthralled the front benchers.

The year 2014 has been memorable for the young actor as both his films turned out to be commercial successes. The first was Yevadu, directed by Vamsi Padipally, a slick crime thriller.

Testing new genres

With his gaunt looks and toned physique, Ram Charan had always proved ideal for the tough macho roles that had come his way. Hence there were ripples of excitement in industry circles when the seasoned director Krishna Vamsi, going through a lean patch himself, opted for Ram Charan in his film Govindudu Andarivadele, casting him in a rather sedate role in a family drama that had sentiment written all over it. As an NRI who seeks to unite his warring father and grandfather, Ram Charan had ample opportunities to reveal his acting chops and his performance proved to be heartwarming not just to his fans, but to the critics as well. The recently-released film has been doing well at the box-office, according to reports. Ram Charan also did well to match strides with actors like Prakash Raj, who played an aging patriarch in the film.

One decision that Ram Charan could rue for long would be his choosing Bollywood film Zanjeer, a remake of the cult film of the 1970s, which turned an unknown hero Amitabh Bachhan into a mass hero. Although his heroine Priyanka Chopra put up a spirited performance, Ram Charan failed to impress, and the film, which was hardly a patch on the original, left the screens without a trace. The actor, who perhaps accepted this film for a lark, has obviously not been keen on Bollywood and has not signed any more Hindi films.

ADVERTISEMENT
(Published 22 November 2014, 17:09 IST)

Follow us on

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT