Nani and Ravi Teja Swapping Side
After establishing himself as a successful actor, he is now taking risks and choosing stories that can present him in a more powerful and mass manner.
By: Priya Chowdhary Nuthalapti | 1 Oct 2026 3:50 PM IST
Tollywood seems to be seeing an interesting change in the choices of two popular heroes, Nani and Ravi Teja. Both actors are slowly exploring the opposite sides of their usual image. Nani, who became popular with family and emotional films, is now strongly moving towards mass cinema. Ravi Teja, who is known as a mass hero is now showing interest in family oriented stories.
Nani built a strong image among Telugu audiences with films that had family emotions, relationships and simple stories. His natural acting and relatable characters made him popular with family audiences. However, in recent years, the actor has been trying something different.
With films like Dasara, Nani entered a more intense and mass zone. The film presented him in a completely different character and received attention for its raw setting and powerful performance. His film The Paradise took him further into this space.
This shows that Nani is not interested in staying within one particular image. After establishing himself as a successful actor, he is now taking risks and choosing stories that can present him in a more powerful and mass manner.
Interestingly, Ravi Teja is moving in the opposite direction.
Ravi Teja has been one of Telugu cinema’s popular mass heroes for many years. His energetic performances, comedy, action and unique dialogue delivery have created a separate fan base. However, his recent choice of Irumudi has shown another side of the actor. The film is said to have a family entertainment angle and has reportedly connected with audiences.
Now, Ravi Teja is preparing for his next project with director Vivek Athreya. The film has been titled Tulabharam.
Vivek Athreya is known for making films with strong family emotions, relationships, comedy and interesting characters. His film Ante Sundaraniki with Nani developed a special fan base because of its unique storytelling and family-oriented treatment.
Therefore, Ravi Teja teaming up with Vivek Athreya has created curiosity. It could give the mass hero a chance to explore a different style of storytelling.
At the same time, Nani is going deeper into mass cinema while Ravi Teja is trying family entertainment. Both actors are showing that stars do not have to remain limited to one image.