Ram Charan at 40: Unshackled and raring to prove the world wrong, the ‘Mega Power Star’ knows how to stage a comeback

Also Read | RC16 officially titled Peddi: Ram Charan’s rugged first look unveiled on birthday, see here

The writing was clear… You either have absolute superstars remake an Amitabh Bachchan film or an absolute newbie. Ram Charan was caught in the middle. He was a superstar in the making in one location and an absolute newbie in another, and this created quite the dissonance. Of course, the film had a lot of other flaws too, which were clearly mentioned in most of the reviews that were completely unfavourable to Ram Charan’s big Hindi debut. The film was also released in Telugu as Toofan, which also showed how seriously they took the film because why would the makers contradict themselves with the two titles. But those were different times when films with pan-India ambitions didn’t really cash in on the need to have the same title in all the languages. Pushpa? RRR? KGF? Kantara? You get the drift, right?

But can anyone survive the aftereffects of being in a film that was universally panned? The failure was magnified multifold due to the iconic nature of the film, and the stature of the stars in the centre. There can be no doubt that Ram Charan bore the brunt of the criticism. There were many aspects of his performance that left a lot to be desired, and it is very tough for an actor to make a comeback after that kind of response. Was Zanjeer a subpar film? Yes. Was Ram Charan effective as Vijay Khanna? No. Was the incessant trolling that followed warranted? Not really. But those were the times when social media was in its nascent stages of breaking out into something all-pervasive, and Zanjeer was one of the patient zeros of this trend. Memes started flying left, right, and centre, and all that Ram Charan could do was retreat silently.

Priyanka Chopra and Ram Charan in Zanjeer.

Ram Charan remained firmly away from the eyes of mainstream Bollywood, and Telugu cinema hadn’t yet become the juggernaut of today with the success of films like Baahubali, Baahubali 2, Pushpa, Pushpa 2, and of course… RRR.

In fact, in many ways, Ram Charan was quite the fighter because it was almost like he imbibed the qualities of Rocky Balboa, who famously said, “It ain’t about how hard you hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward? That’s how winning is done.” And with a hit like Zanjeer, he pushed back with Yevadu and Govindudu Andarivadele. With a punch in the gut like Bruce Lee, he pushed back with Dhruva and Rangasthalam. And with a disastrous time at the box office with Vinaya Vidheya Rama, he bounced back with the global success of RRR. It is almost like Ram Charan is like the arrow that is pulled back before it reaches the target.

And with RRR, Ram Charan came right back into the consciousness of a section of the audience that didn’t even remember him as the guy who did Zanjeer. What is worse? Being forgotten or being sidelined? Nevertheless, thanks to SS Rajamouli’s aura, there was no doubt that people from non-Telugu states would turn up to watch RRR. But what happened in its Hindi run proved that the audience always wants to fall in love with an actor and their character. It just has to click at the right time. If playing Vijay Khanna in the Zanjeer remake was a challenge, so was playing Alluri Sitarama Raju, the iconic freedom fighter, who has been immortalised in film by superstar Krishna. But this time, the gamble worked.

Ram Charan lived up to the legacy. Ram Charan stood tall in a role that was grey in nature in a film that oozed goodness and empathy. Ram Charan managed to impress the media despite his reserved nature. Ram Charan became a household name again. RRR was an unprecedented success that endeared him to the masses of the nation. What he thought would happen in a film like Zanjeer happened with RRR.

Also Read | Game Changer movie review: A riveting Ram Charan anchors a middling Shankar showreel that needed more upgrades

It makes one wonder if such things can actually be orchestrated. Yes, hype can be created, but comebacks have to happen. It is not about the numbers or the reach. It is not about the hits or the misses. It is all about the story. A story that begins with “Once upon a time, a young actor took up a challenge…” A story that has an interval block that goes, “But his dream came to a premature halt, and he faced a lot of trolling that seemingly shut down his dreams.” And then ends with… “Picture abhi baaki hai…”

Yes, Ram Charan had a miss with Shankar’s Game Changer, but if we observe his career trajectory, we know that a 1-2 punch is incoming. Ram Charan has films with Uppena director Buchi Babu Sana and Pushpa director Sukumar coming up next. As he celebrates his 40th birthday today, it is but clear that he has broken off the shackles of Zanjeer. Was he looking to do it? Probably not. But Ram Charan isn’t someone who doesn’t keep receipts. He loves to prove his detractors wrong. And it is time for him to get back on the saddle.

Coming back after a crushing defeat is always sweeter… even if it comes a decade later, and if there’s one thing that Ram Charan has always proved to the world is that the echoes of his victories after a defeat always sound the loudest.