Varun Tej Konidela celebrates his birthday today. The Mega family (headlined by Chiranjeevi, Pawan Kalyan and Varun’s father Naga Babu) is synonymous with ‘mass’ roles today but there was a time when Chiranjeevi was known for picking roles that elevated him as an actor more than a star. (Also Read: The superhero universe from Krrish to HanuMan: Is it time for Indian cinema to explore this genre?)
And it looks like Varun is prepped to follow in his footsteps given the roles he has picked in his almost decade-long career. Sure, the actor has also done ‘commercially viable’ films like Fidaa and F2: Fun and Frustration which have been massive hits. But here’s looking at the ones that were a little more experimental, irrespective of their success.
Kanche (2015)
Varun debuted in 2014 with Mukunda, a typical commercial drama which failed to establish him as an actor. So, the actor did a 180, picking Krish’s romantic period war film Kanche, which was completely unlike his debut. The film set in 1930s Madras dealt with casteism, World War 2, and a ruptured friendship and saw Varun play a British soldier. The film also did something brave – kill off its protagonists. There was no looking back for Varun after this, with the film considered one of the best Telugu films ever made.
Antariksham 9000 KMPH (2018)
At a time when Indian cinema wasn’t making space films (barring the Tamil film Tik Tik Tik that was released the same year), Sankalp Reddy attempted to make one. The film saw him play a passionate scientist and an astronaut who goes rogue to fulfil the wishes of his dead fiance. The film was not received well due to excessive melodrama, however, the film established Varun as an actor willing to take risks and pick stories that might break ground for others to follow.
Gaddalakonda Ganesh (2019)
In a day and age when actors do their best to look younger, Varun did the complete opposite with this Telugu remake of Karthik Subbaraj’s Tamil hit, Jigarthanda. The film, adapted in a more commercial tone by Harish Shankar, saw him play a middle-aged gangster who narrates his life story to a filmmaker. Varun had big shoes to fill given that the original skyrocketed Bobby Simha to fame, but he left a mark.
Ghani (2022)
It had been a while since Telugu cinema saw a film based on sports, especially boxing. The idea for this film germinated around Gaddalakonda Gamesh’s making but it took a while for it to come to fruition. The film failed spectacularly, with Varun even publicly apologising for its failure. But his intentions were right with the Kiran Korrapati directorial, given that he even trained under Tony Jeffries, the former England boxer who won a bronze at the 2008 Summer Olympics, to make the boxing on-screen look as authentic as possible.
Gandeevadhari Arjuna (2023)
This Praveen Sattaru directorial is another film he put effort into but that did him dirty. Given his build and the way he looks, he should be a shoo-in to play an ex-RAW agent who’s tasked with protecting someone important. However, the film’s story was as predictable as they come despite the slick look. Varun though seems confident that he’d rather push the envelope than play run-of-the-mill Telugu heroes, given that his upcoming films include Operation Valentine and Matka.
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