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imported>Rayutr324: /* Career */

2021-08-30T19:16:51Z

Career

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{{short description|Indian actor}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Varun Tej
| image = Varun tej from mister.png
| caption = Tej in 2017
| other_names = Mega Prince
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1990|1|19}}<ref name="birth" />
| birth_place = 
| nationality = Indian
| alma mater = [[St. Mary's College, Hyderabad]]
| occupation = Actor
| years_active = 2014–present
| notable_works =
| father = [[Nagendra Babu]]
| family = See [[Allu–Konidela family]]
}}

'''Konidela Varun Tej''' (born 19 January 1990) is an Indian actor who works in [[Telugu language|Telugu]] films. He made his debut as a lead in the film ''[[Mukunda]]'' (2014). He later starred in the critically acclaimed war film ''[[Kanche]]'' (2015), directed by [[Krish (director)|Krish]]. He then went on to appear in commercially successful films such as ''[[Fidaa]]'' (2017), ''[[Tholi Prema (2018 film)|Tholi Prema]]'' (2018), ''[[F2: Fun and Frustration]]'' (2019) and ''[[Gaddalakonda Ganesh]]'' (2019).

== Early life ==
Varun Tej is the son of [[Telugu cinema|Telugu]] actor and producer [[Nagendra Babu]].<ref name="birth">{{Cite web|date=29 October 2018|title=Tollywood's rising stars under 30|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movies/news/tollywoods-rising-stars-under-30/photostory/66416903.cms|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201011223133/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movies/news/tollywoods-rising-stars-under-30/photostory/66416903.cms|archive-date=11 October 2020|access-date=14 August 2020|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref> He is a nephew of actors [[Chiranjeevi]] and [[Pawan Kalyan]]. His younger sister [[Niharika Konidela|Niharika]] is also an actor. [[Ram Charan]] and [[Allu Arjun]] are Tej's cousins.<ref>{{cite news |title=Four injured after Telugu actor Varun Tej's car rams into another |url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/four-injured-after-telugu-actor-varun-tejs-car-rams-another-103521 |access-date=4 July 2019 |work=[[The News Minute]] |date=13 June 2019 |archive-date=4 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704141446/https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/four-injured-after-telugu-actor-varun-tejs-car-rams-another-103521 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He was educated at [[Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Jubilee Hills]], [[Hyderabad]], and at [[St. Mary's College, Hyderabad]].<ref>{{cite news |title=9 Lesser Known facts about Nandi Award winner TV Host Niharika Konidela |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tv/news/telugu/9-lesser-known-facts-about-nandi-award-winner-tv-host-niharika-konidela/photostory/64064974.cms |work=The Times of India |date=7 May 2018 |language=en |access-date=24 June 2020 |archive-date=17 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200717121247/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tv/news/telugu/9-lesser-known-facts-about-nandi-award-winner-tv-host-niharika-konidela/photostory/64064974.cms |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Career ==
Varun Tej debuted as a child artist in his father [[Nagendra Babu]]'s film ''[[Hands Up! (2000 film)|Hands Up!]]'' when he was just ten years old. He made his adult debut with ''[[Mukunda]]'', starring opposite fellow newcomer [[Pooja Hegde]]. The film earned mixed reviews. His second venture was the 2015 war film ''[[Kanche]]'', starring opposite [[Pragya Jaiswal]] and received positive reviews from critics.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.ibtimes.co.in/kanche-movie-review-roundup-critics-call-it-brave-attempt-by-krish-varun-tej-651877 | title='Kanche' movie review roundup: Critics call it a brave attempt by Krish, Varun Tej |access-date=6 March 2021 | work=International Business Times India | date=25 October 2015| url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510210529/http://www.ibtimes.co.in/kanche-movie-review-roundup-critics-call-it-brave-attempt-by-krish-varun-tej-651877 | archive-date=10 May 2017 }}</ref> Varun Tej's performance as Dhupati Haribabu was praised with ''[[The Times of India]]'' praising his "capability to shift gears from intense to sobriety".<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movie-reviews/Kanche/movie-review/49507638.cms |title=Kanche Movie Review, Trailer, & Show timings at Times of India |date=24 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151024124242/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movie-reviews/Kanche/movie-review/49507638.cms |access-date=26 August 2017|archive-date=24 October 2015|work=The Times of India}}</ref> His second release that year ''[[Loafer (2015 film)|Loafer]]'', was a box office failure, along with his 2017 outing ''[[Mister (2017)|Mister]].''

The later half of 2017 saw the release of ''[[Fidaa]]'', where he played an NRI falling in love with a village belle. The film was commercially successful grossing over {{INR}}90 crore at the [[box office]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hooli|first=Shekhar H.|date=17 December 2017|title=Tollywood in 2017: 15 highest grossing Telugu movies of the year - Baahubali 2, Khaidi No 150, JLK, DJ and others|url=https://www.ibtimes.co.in/tollywood-2017-15-highest-grossing-telugu-movies-year-baahubali-2-khaidi-no-150-jlk-dj-753526|access-date=6 March 2021|work=IB Times|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630044059/https://www.ibtimes.co.in/tollywood-2017-15-highest-grossing-telugu-movies-year-baahubali-2-khaidi-no-150-jlk-dj-753526|archive-date=30 June 2020}}</ref> His 2018 release ''[[Tholi Prema (2018 film)|Tholi Prema]]'' was also a box office success and Varun Tej's performance as an impulsive young man was widely appreciated.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hooli|first=Shekhar H.|date=10 September 2018|title=Tollywood box office report of 2018: highest grossing Telugu movies of year; List of hits and flops|url=https://www.ibtimes.co.in/2018s-tollywood-movies-box-office-collection-list-highest-grossing-telugu-films-year-780150|access-date=6 March 2021|work=IB Times|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920215058/https://www.ibtimes.co.in/2018s-tollywood-movies-box-office-collection-list-highest-grossing-telugu-films-year-780150|archive-date=20 September 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title='Tholi Prema': Five reasons to watch Venky Atluri's directorial debut starring Varun Tej and Raashi Khanna|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movies/news/tholi-prema-review-five-reasons-to-watch-tholi-prema-movie-review-venky-atluris-directorial-debut-starring-varun-tej-and-raashi-khanna-tholi-prema/articleshow/62860070.cms|access-date=6 March 2021|work=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref> His next film that year was space thriller ''[[Antariksham 9000 KMPH]]'', directed by [[Sankalp Reddy]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movies/news/varun-tejs-space-thriller-antariksham-9000-kmph-wraps-up-its-shoot/articleshow/66029054.cms|title=Varun Tej's space-thriller Antariksham 9000 KMPH wraps up its shoot|work=The Times of India|access-date=17 October 2018|archive-date=8 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181108173256/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movies/news/varun-tejs-space-thriller-antariksham-9000-kmph-wraps-up-its-shoot/articleshow/66029054.cms|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2019, Tej's first release was ''[[F2: Fun and Frustration]]'' which is a multistarrer with [[Venkatesh (actor)|Venkatesh]], [[Tamannaah]] and [[Mehreen Pirzada]] are also a part of this movie which is huge blockbuster.<ref>{{Cite news|date=21 February 2020|title=Mahesh Babu playing extended cameo in 'F3'?|url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/mahesh-babu-playing-extended-cameo-f3-118674|access-date=6 March 2021|work=The News Minute|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210405154008/https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/mahesh-babu-playing-extended-cameo-f3-118674|archive-date=5 April 2021}}</ref> After ''F2'', he dubbed in Telugu for Aladdin's role in the film ''[[Aladdin (2019 film)|Aladdin]].'' He later starred in ''[[Gaddalakonda Ganesh]],'' a remake of Tamil film ''[[Jigarthanda (2014 film)|Jigarthanda]]'', directed by [[Harish Shankar]] which was successful at the box office.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Vyas|date=16 October 2019|title=Gaddalakonda Ganesh worldwide collections|url=https://www.thehansindia.com/cinema/tollywood/gaddalakonda-ganesh-worldwide-collections-573124|access-date=6 March 2021|work=Hans India|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028174211/https://www.thehansindia.com/cinema/tollywood/gaddalakonda-ganesh-worldwide-collections-573124|archive-date=28 October 2020}}</ref>

As of January 2020, Tej has two films under production, ''[[Ghani (2021 film)|Ghani]]'', and F2's sequel ''[[F3 (film)|F3]].''<ref name="Ghani">{{cite news|last1=Nyayapati|first1=Neeshita|date=4 January 2020|title=Varun Tej prepping up for #VT10 based on boxing - Times of India|language=en|work=The Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movies/news/varun-tej-prepping-up-for-vt10-based-on-boxing/articleshow/73096567.cms|url-status=live|access-date=20 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200105092140/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movies/news/varun-tej-prepping-up-for-vt10-based-on-boxing/articleshow/73096567.cms|archive-date=5 January 2020}}</ref><ref name="F3">{{Cite news|title=Shooting of F3 underway in Hyderabad: Venkatesh joins the proceedingsa|language=en|work=The Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movies/news/shooting-of-f3-underway-in-hyderabad-venkatesh-joins-the-proceedings/articleshow/79923877.cms|url-status=live|access-date=23 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223112638/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movies/news/shooting-of-f3-underway-in-hyderabad-venkatesh-joins-the-proceedings/articleshow/79923877.cms|archive-date=23 December 2020}}</ref> Tej is playing the role of a boxer, in ''[[Ghani (2021 film)|Ghani]]'' directed by Kiran Korrapati.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Gautam|first=Nehal|title=Varun Tej Konidela's 'super intense' first look in Ghani impresses fans; see motion poster|url=https://www.republicworld.com/entertainment-news/regional-indian-cinema/varun-tej-konidelas-super-intense-first-look-in-ghani-impresses-fans-see-motion-poster.html|access-date=28 January 2021|work=Republic World|language=en|date=19 January 2021|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201113749/https://www.republicworld.com/entertainment-news/regional-indian-cinema/varun-tej-konidelas-super-intense-first-look-in-ghani-impresses-fans-see-motion-poster.html|archive-date=1 February 2021}}</ref>

== Filmography ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+Key
|style="background:#FFFFCC;"|{{Dagger}}
|Denotes films that have not yet been released.
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Year
!Title
!Role
!Notes
!{{Tooltip|Ref.|Reference(s)}}
|-
|2000
|''[[Hands Up! (2000 film)|Hands Up!]]''
| Varun
| Child artist
|
|-
|2014
|''[[Mukunda]]''
| Mukunda
|Debut in a lead role
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2015
|''[[Kanche]]''
| Dhupati Hari Babu
|
|
|-
|''[[Loafer (2015 film)|Loafer]]''
| Raja Muraali
|
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2017
|''[[Mister (2017)|Mister]]''
| Pichchaiah Naidu (Chai)
|
|
|-
|''[[Fidaa]]''
| Varun
|
|
|-
| rowspan="3" |2018
|''[[Tholi Prema (2018 film)|Tholi Prema]]''
| Aditya Sekhar
|
|
|-
|''[[Antariksham 9000 KMPH]]''
|Dev
|
|
|-
|''[[Nanna Koochi]]''
|{{N/a}}
|Narrator; web series on [[ZEE5]]
|
|-
| rowspan="3" |2019
|''[[F2: Fun and Frustration]] ''
|Varun Yadav
|
|
|-
|''[[Aladdin (2019 film)|Aladdin]]''
|[[Aladdin]]
|Voice role ([[Telugu language|Telugu]] version)
|<ref>{{Cite web|date=26 April 2019|title=Venkatesh and Varun Tej dub for ‘Aladdin’ Telugu version|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movies/news/venkatesh-and-varun-tej-dub-for-aladdin-telugu-version/articleshow/69054162.cms|url-status=live|access-date=2 July 2021|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref>
|-
|''[[Gaddalakonda Ganesh]]''
|Gaddalakonda Ganesh (Gani)
|
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |2021
|{{Pending film|[[Ghani (2021 film)|Ghani]]}}
|Ghani
|Filming
|<ref name="Ghani" />
|-
|{{Pending film|[[F3 (film)|F3: Fun and Frustration]]}}
|Varun Yadav
|Filming
|<ref name="F3" />
|-
|}

== Awards and Nominations ==
{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Award
!Category
!Film
!Result
!{{Tooltip|Ref.|Reference(s)}}
|-
| rowspan="2" |2015
|[[National Film Awards (India)|National Film Awards]]
|Best Feature film in ([[Telugu language|Telugu]])
| rowspan="2" |''[[Kanche]]''
|{{Won}}
|
|-
|[[Nandi Awards]]
|Best Film On National Integration
|{{Won}}
|
|-
|2017
|[[Zee Telugu Golden Awards]]
|Entertainer Of The Year (Male)
|[[Fidaa]]
|{{Nom}}
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |2018
|[[South Indian International Movie Awards]]
|Best Film Actor (Male)
| rowspan="2" |[[Tholi Prema (2018 film)|Tholi Prema]]
|{{Nom}}
|
|-
|[[Zee Cine Awards Telugu|Zee Cine Awards]]
|Best Film Actor
|{{Nom}}
|
|-
|2019
|[[International Film Festival of India]]
|Best Film in (Telugu)
|[[F2: Fun and Frustration|F2: Fun & Frustration]]
|{{Won}}
|
|}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{IMDb name|nm7674551}}
*{{Instagram|varunkonidela7}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:TeJ, Varun}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Indian male film actors]]
[[Category:Male actors from Hyderabad, India]]
[[Category:Male actors in Telugu cinema]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian male actors]]
[[Category:1990 births]]
[[Category:Indian male voice actors]]

Varun Tej - Revision history

Creativesketchbook: Improved wording and formatting

WikiDwarfBOT: Cleanup: Source modification.

imported>Rayutr324: /* Career */