His gaunt visage and rugged features might not make him a natural choice for the chocolate boy roles, but popular Tollywood hero Ravi Teja has never been shy of playing the romantic lead opposite young and pretty damsels, and audiences have almost always patronised his films.
The actor has just got over a lean trot and has returned with the blockbuster hit Balupu directed by Gopichand, putting to rest all rumours that he had lost his hold on the box-office.
Ravi, who like many of his contemporaries in the industry started out with small roles in films like Karthavyam, Chaitanya and Aaj Ka Goondaraj, found lady luck smiling on him when director Krishna Vamsi, whom he had assisted in a few films, cast him as a hero in Sindhooram, which went on to win critical acclaim. The film however did not land him a deluge of offers and he had to again enact cameos in Seetha Rama Raju and Premaku Velayara. This time, it was another ace director Srinu Vaitla, who came to his rescue with Nee Kosam, which fared well at the box-office.
Ravi could further consolidate his position with his mentor Vamsi’s Samudram, which helped him land roles in multi-starrers like Thirumalai Thirupathi Venkatesa. But it was his association with the king of commercial cinema, Puri Jagannath, that has served Ravi in good stead in furthering his career. The duo first worked together in Itlu Sravani Subramanyam, a box-office grosser, followed by hits like Idiot and Amma Naana o Tamil Ammayi. With these films and Vamsi’s Khadgam, Ravi could attract audiences to his films with his style of dialogue delivery, body language, dancing prowess and agility in executing action sequences.
In Khadgam, Ravi also got an opportunity to skillfully execute emotional scenes. Ravi also tasted commercial success in films like Naa Autograph, a remake of the Tamil hit Autograph, Boyapati Seenu’s Bhadra, Bhageeratha and Shock directed by Harish Shankar. S S Rajamouli’s Vikramarkudu, released in 2006, proved to be one of the biggest hits in Ravi’s career. The film had him playing his first double role as a small-time thief and an assistant superintendent of police. With plenty of action scenes thrown in, the film turned out to be a treat for Ravi’s fans and the actor too did his best to live up to the director’s expectations.
One marked feature in Ravi Teja’s career is that he has acted opposite almost all the glamorous stars in Telugu cinema. Gopika and Bhumika Chawla were his heroines in Naa Autograph, while Meera Jasmine (Bhadra) Shriya Saran (Bhageeratha and Don Seenu), Jyothika (Shock), Trisha (Krishna), Ileana D’Souza (Kick and Devudu Chesina Manushulu), Anushka Shetty (Vikramarkudu) Priyamani (Shiva Shambo), Kajal Agarwal and Tapsee Pannu (Veera), Richa Gangopadhyaya (Mirapakay) and Shruti Haasan and Anjali (Balupu) have all shared screen space with the versatile actor.
Among the flops that threatened to jettison his career were films like Anveshana, Oke Raja Oke Rani, Baladur, Neninthe, Nippu, Devudu Chesina Manushulyu and Sarochanu. However, Neninthe featured Ravi in one of the best roles in his career and won him a state award for best actor. Ravi’s films could fit into a groove, as most of them have been out and out entertainers with the hero always being cast as the do-gooder and good samaritan, taking up cudgels on behalf of the downtrodden and thrashing the villains to pulp while romancing the heroine in exotic locations. Even though he has worked with almost all the major directors in the field, none of them have saddled Ravi with overly emotional roles and most of them have capitalised on his strengths and this has enabled them to score at the box-office. There have been very few actors who have survived a string of flops and Ravi, by finding a place in this august list, has proved that he is in the film industry to stay.
Presently, the actor is working in Jinthitha directed by Rajamouli’s one-time assistant Koti. He is also likely to land the hero’s role in the remake of the Bollywood hit OMG — Oh My God where he will be reprising the role done by Akshay Kumar. Ravi might not be in the same league as Nagarjuna, Mahesh Babu or Pavan Kalyan, but then he has his own loyal fan following and enjoys the confidence of most of the big names in Tollywood, who are keen to sign him for their ventures. And with his last release Balupu striking gold at the box-office, the actor has regained his confidence and is sure to do even better in the days to come.