The Biography

Bhupatiraju Ravi Shankar Raju, known professionally as Ravi Teja and popularly referred to as "Mass Maharaja", is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly works in Telugu cinema. Born on January 26, 1968, in Jaggampeta, Andhra Pradesh, he spent much of his childhood across northern India before studying at Siddhartha Degree College in Vijayawada. He began his film journey in Chennai working as an assistant director and playing uncredited and supporting roles in movies throughout the 1990s. He earned his breakthrough as a lead actor with Srinu Vaitla's romantic drama *Nee Kosam* (1999) and Krishna Vamsi's patriotic ensemble *Khadgam* (2002), both earning him Nandi Special Jury Awards. He cemented his status as a bankable mainstream star through a career-defining collaboration with director Puri Jagannadh, beginning with *Itlu Sravani Subramanyam* (2001) and the runaway blockbusters *Idiot* (2002) and *Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi* (2003). Celebrated for his high-energy screen presence, sharp comic timing, and fast-paced dialogue delivery, he delivered widespread commercial hits including *Venky* (2004), *Vikramarkudu* (2006), *Dubai Seenu* (2007), *Krishna* (2008), *Neninthe* (2008), *Kick* (2009), *Don Seenu* (2010), *Mirapakay* (2011), *Balupu* (2013), *Power* (2014), *Raja the Great* (2017), *Krack* (2021), *Dhamaka* (2022), and *Waltair Veerayya* (2023). Over a career spanning more than three decades and over 70 films, he has won three Nandi Awards, including the Nandi Award for Best Actor for *Neninthe*, as well as a Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Telugu for *Waltair Veerayya*. He has also been featured multiple times on the Forbes India Celebrity 100 list and produces films under his banner RT Teamworks.