Ram Pothineni (born 15 May 1988) is an Indian actor who primarily works in Telugu films. Known for his energetic screen presence, he earned one Filmfare Award and one SIIMA Award for his work.Pothineni made his acting debut with the box office success Devadasu (2006), for which he won the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut – South. He achieved his breakthrough in 2008 with the blockbuster action comedy Ready (2008). Pothineni continued to established himself as a leading man with critical and commercial successes such as Maska (2009), Kandireega (2011), Pandaga Chesko (2015), Nenu Sailaja (2016), Hello Guru Prema Kosame (2018), iSmart Shankar (2019), and Red (2021).Beyond his film career, Pothineni endorses many products and is a brand ambassador for Garnier.

Early life

Ram Pothineni was born on 15 May 1988, in Hyderabad, to Murali Pothineni. He is the nephew of Telugu film producer, Sravanthi Ravi Kishore. Actor Sharwanand is his cousin. His family hails from Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh.

Career

Pothineni first appeared in Tamil language short film ''Adayaalam'' (2002) where he played an 18-year old drug addict. He then made his theatrical debut in 2006 with ''Devadasu''. His second film, ''Jagadam'' opposite Isha Sahani was directed by Sukumar. He then appeared in ''Ready'' alongside Genelia D'Souza directed by Srinu Vaitla which was a commercial success. In 2009, he had two releases, ''Maska'' and ''Ganesh: Just Ganesh''. In 2010, Pothineni had only one release, ''Rama Rama Krishna Krishna'', produced by Dil Raju and directed by Srivaas. In 2009, he had two releases, ''Maska'' and ''Ganesh: Just Ganesh''. In 2010, Pothineni had only one release, ''Rama Rama Krishna Krishna'', produced by Dil Raju and directed by Srivaas.Pothineni's next film was ''Kandireega'' (2011). Later he starred in ''Endukante... Premanta!'' (2012) alongside Tamannaah, directed by Karunakaran and produced by Sravanthi Ravi Kishore. In 2013, Pothineni appeared in ''Ongole Githa'' with Kriti Kharbanda directed by Bhaskar and produced by B.V.S.N. Prasad. In the same year, he co-starred alongside Venkatesh in the action comedy ''Masala'', the remake of the Hindi film ''Bol Bachchan,'' directed by K. Vijaya Bhaskar and jointly produced by Sravanthi Ravi Kishore and D. Suresh Babu.In 2015, Pothineni starred in two films, ''Pandaga Chesko'' and ''Shivam'' . While ''Pandaga Chesko'' directed by Gopichand Malineni, was a commercial success, ''Shivam'' ended up as one of the biggest failures of his career. In 2016, He had two releases, both produced by his own production house Sri Sravanthi Movies, ''Nenu Sailaja'' which was a commercial success In 2016, He had two releases, both produced by his own production house Sri Sravanthi Movies, ''Nenu Sailaja'' which was a commercial success and Santosh Srinivas-directed ''Hyper'' which was an average at the box office.His 2017 coming-of-age film ''Vunnadhi Okate Zindagi'' received mixed reviews. In 2018, he starred in the romantic comedy ''Hello Guru Prema Kosame'' directed by Trinadha Rao Nakkina. In 2019, he collaborated with director Puri Jagannadh for the action thriller ''iSmart Shankar''. The film became a commercial success for Pothineni after a series of failures. It grossed over , his career's highest grosser.His 2021 film was ''Red'' where he played a dual role, is a remake of Tamil film ''Thadam'' (2018). In 2022, he starred in the Lingusamy-directed ''The Warriorr'' where he played a police officer. The film received negative reviews from critics and was huge commercial failure.Pothineni then starred in Boyapati Srinu's ''Skanda'' (2023) opposite Sreeleela to mixed reviews from the critics. He is next to star in ''Double'' ''Ismart,'' set for release in 2024.

Debut and early career (2006–2010)

Pothineni first appeared in Tamil language short film ''Adayaalam'' (2002) where he played an 18-year old drug addict. He then made his theatrical debut in 2006 with ''Devadasu''. His second film, ''Jagadam'' opposite Isha Sahani was directed by Sukumar. He then appeared in ''Ready'' alongside Genelia D'Souza directed by Srinu Vaitla which was a commercial success. In 2009, he had two releases, ''Maska'' and ''Ganesh: Just Ganesh''. In 2010, Pothineni had only one release, ''Rama Rama Krishna Krishna'', produced by Dil Raju and directed by Srivaas. In 2009, he had two releases, ''Maska'' and ''Ganesh: Just Ganesh''. In 2010, Pothineni had only one release, ''Rama Rama Krishna Krishna'', produced by Dil Raju and directed by Srivaas.

Career ups and downs (2011–2016)

Pothineni's next film was ''Kandireega'' (2011). Later he starred in ''Endukante... Premanta!'' (2012) alongside Tamannaah, directed by Karunakaran and produced by Sravanthi Ravi Kishore. In 2013, Pothineni appeared in ''Ongole Githa'' with Kriti Kharbanda directed by Bhaskar and produced by B.V.S.N. Prasad. In the same year, he co-starred alongside Venkatesh in the action comedy ''Masala'', the remake of the Hindi film ''Bol Bachchan,'' directed by K. Vijaya Bhaskar and jointly produced by Sravanthi Ravi Kishore and D. Suresh Babu.In 2015, Pothineni starred in two films, ''Pandaga Chesko'' and ''Shivam'' . While ''Pandaga Chesko'' directed by Gopichand Malineni, was a commercial success, ''Shivam'' ended up as one of the biggest failures of his career. In 2016, He had two releases, both produced by his own production house Sri Sravanthi Movies, ''Nenu Sailaja'' which was a commercial success In 2016, He had two releases, both produced by his own production house Sri Sravanthi Movies, ''Nenu Sailaja'' which was a commercial success and Santosh Srinivas-directed ''Hyper'' which was an average at the box office.

Success and recent work (2017–present)

His 2017 coming-of-age film ''Vunnadhi Okate Zindagi'' received mixed reviews. In 2018, he starred in the romantic comedy ''Hello Guru Prema Kosame'' directed by Trinadha Rao Nakkina. In 2019, he collaborated with director Puri Jagannadh for the action thriller ''iSmart Shankar''. The film became a commercial success for Pothineni after a series of failures. It grossed over , his career's highest grosser.His 2021 film was ''Red'' where he played a dual role, is a remake of Tamil film ''Thadam'' (2018). In 2022, he starred in the Lingusamy-directed ''The Warriorr'' where he played a police officer. The film received negative reviews from critics and was huge commercial failure.Pothineni then starred in Boyapati Srinu's ''Skanda'' (2023) opposite Sreeleela to mixed reviews from the critics. He is next to star in ''Double'' ''Ismart,'' set for release in 2024.