2007–2009: Debut and breakthrough 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. 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."
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.
2010–2013: Career fluctuations 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. 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 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." The film was released on 5 April 2012 and was declared a commercial success. during promotions of their film
Zanjeer in 2013|282x282px Charan had two films released in 2013. His first release was
Naayak, directed by
V. V. Vinayak, in which he played a
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 reviews and became a commercial success. The film brought him two nominations – the
Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu and the
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 criticised 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.
2014–2015: Continued career The following year saw Charan with two releases.
Yevadu (2014), directed by
Vamsi 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 given his best performance after
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 criticised 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: Commercial success and established actor 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 emerged as 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. He received his fourth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu for his performance 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 marked the 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, which earned him particular praise for his performance as Chitti Babu, a semi-deaf villager, with several critics deeming it to be his career-best performance. The film also emerged as a major commercial success, becoming the
highest-grossing Telugu film of the year, with a gross collection of over 216 crores. 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 his second
Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu and the
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 with
S. S. Rajamouli 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 announced that he would portray
Alluri Sitarama Raju in
S. S. Rajamouli's directorial
RRR, co-starring
N. T. Rama Rao Jr. The film was released in March 2022 with widespread acclaim from both Indian and other foreign critics. His performance in the film received particular praise.
Shubhra Gupta of
The Indian Express wrote "The film casts not just one super-star, but two of them –
Jr NTR and Ram Charan. The biggest super-star among them all is SS Rajamouli and the audience also saved the loudest 'taalis' (claps) for him". The film has also became the
third highest-grossing Indian film and the
second highest-grossing Telugu film worldwide, with him getting a
Critics' Choice Super Best Actor in an Action Movie nomination and his third
Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu. He starred alongside his father
Chiranjeevi in
Acharya (2022) directed by
Koratala Siva.
Chiranjeevi confirmed that Charan would be doing the role in June 2020. Ram Charan starred in the film
Game Changer, directed by
S. Shankar and produced by
Dil Raju under
Sri Venkateswara Creations. The film was released on 10 January 2025, and received mixed reviews from critics, underperforming at the box office. It became available for streaming on
Amazon Prime Video on 7 February 2025. Charan will next appear in
Peddi, scheduled for release in 2026. ==Other work==