Ram Charan, one of Indian cinema’s highest-paid actors, turned 39 on Wednesday ( March 27) The ‘Global Star’ began his acting career with the film ‘Chirutha’, which released in 2007 and turned out to be a box office hit. He even won the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut – South after which his career gained momentum. He then quickly emerged as one of the most sought-after actors of Telugu cinema.
He soon tried to find a foothold in the Hindi film industry with Zanjeer, a remake of Amitabh Bachchan’s cult film of the same name, but things didn’t go as planned. Charan essayed the role of ACP Vijay Khanna, originally played by Big B. The remake failed to live up to the standards set by the original version and collected merely Rs 15 crore (nett) at the domestic box office.
Zanjeer ’ is the story of a daring police commissioner, known for his frequent transfers, who is tasked with tackling Mumbai’s oil mafia. He then faces off against some of the city’s most notorious criminals. Charan’s Zanjeer also featured Sanjay Dutt as Sher Khan, Priyanka Chopra as Mala, and Prakash Raj as Rudra Pratap Teja. Zanjeer was simultaneously shot in Telugu with a slightly different cast.
Post Zanjeer, Charan bounced back with films such as Yevadu and Rangasthalam. RRR then propelled him to global stardom. The film, which featured him as Alluri Sitarama Raju, gave him scope to showcase his dancing and acting skills. The period action drama was much-loved by the audience and won the Oscar for Best Original Song for the song ‘Naatu Naatu’. Ram Charan is seen dancing with Jr NTR in the music video.
On the work front, Ram Charan is currently working on three major projects namely Game Changer, RC16 and RC17. Game Changer is directed by Shankar and features the actor in the role of an honest government servant. The cast includes Kiara Advani, Anjali, and Jayaram. Similarly, RC16 and RC17 will be directed by Buchi Babu Sana and Sukumar, respectively.