Actor · Telugu cinema
Varun Tej
Varun Tej movies: 15 Telugu films on file, 2000–2026. Earliest on file: Hands Up! (2000). Latest release: Korean Kanakaraju (7 August 2026).
- Films on file
- 15 (15 as actor)
- Years on file
- 2000–2026
- Born
- 19 January 1990 · January birthdays (Wikidata)
- Selected films on file
- Operation Valentine, F3, Gaddalakonda Ganesh
- Record
- Q19664637 on Wikidata
Varun Tej (Konidela Sai Varun Tej) is an Indian actor who works in Telugu cinema. He made his debut in Mukunda (2014), was praised for Krish’s war film Kanche (2015), and became a leading actor with the romantic drama Fidaa (2017). He is the son of the actor and producer Nagendra Babu and a nephew of Chiranjeevi and Pawan Kalyan.
He was born on 19 January 1990, according to Wikipedia and Wikidata; Wikidata gives Hyderabad as his birthplace. He studied at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Jubilee Hills, and St. Mary’s College, Hyderabad. His cousins include Ram Charan and Allu Arjun.
Career
He first appeared as a child in his father’s film Hands Up. His adult debut, Srikanth Addala’s Mukunda (2014), opposite Pooja Hegde, drew positive reviews. In the war film Kanche (2015) he played Dhupati Haribabu, and The Times of India praised his “capability to shift gears from intense to sobriety”. He followed it with Loafer (2015) and Mister (2017).
In Sekhar Kammula’s Fidaa (2017) he played an NRI who falls for a village girl; Wikipedia says the film grossed over ₹90 crore. Tholi Prema (2018) was also a success, and he starred in the space thriller Antariksham 9000 KMPH (2018). Anil Ravipudi’s comedy F2 – Fun and Frustration (2019), with Venkatesh, was a huge hit. Harish Shankar’s Gaddalakonda Ganesh, a remake of Jigarthanda released in 2019 according to Wikipedia, was also a success.
He played a boxer in Kiran Korrapati’s Ghani (2022). After it failed, he posted a note acknowledging the reviews and apologising. The sequel F3 came the same year. His later films are Operation Valentine and Matka (both 2024), and Korean Kanakaraju (2026).
Awards
No award wins for him are listed in Wikipedia’s Telugu award lists, which we use for our awards table. His performances in Kanche and Fidaa drew critical praise.
Upcoming films
No upcoming film is on our records for him. New films appear on upcoming Telugu movies as they are recorded.
Where to watch his films
- Korean Kanakaraju: Netflix, from 4 September 2026 (OTT details)
- Matka: Prime Video, from 5 December 2024, per Wikipedia (OTT details)
- Operation Valentine: Prime Video, from 22 March 2024 (OTT details)
- F3: SonyLIV and Netflix, from 22 July 2022, per Wikipedia (OTT details)
- Ghani: Netflix and Aha, from 22 April 2022 (OTT details)
- Gaddalakonda Ganesh: Disney+ Hotstar, from 4 November 2019, per Wikipedia (OTT details)
- Fidaa: Aha, from Aha’s listing (OTT details)
Catalogues change; check the platform before you plan to watch.
Personal life
He married the actress Lavanya Tripathi, his co-star in Mister and Antariksham 9000 KMPH, in Tuscany, Italy, on 1 November 2023 (Hindustan Times). They have a son.
Sources: Wikipedia and the references it cites (linked above), Wikidata, and Tollywood Desk’s film, release and OTT records.
Career on file
Varun Tej appears in 15 Telugu films on file at Tollywood Desk, dated from 2000 to 2026. The earliest of them is Hands Up! (2000), and the most recent release is Korean Kanakaraju (2026). Measured by how many Wikipedia language editions cover them, the best-known titles here are Operation Valentine (2024), F3 (2022) and Gaddalakonda Ganesh (2019). Other recent releases on file are Matka (2024), Ghani (2022) and F2 – Fun and Frustration (2019).
Among directors, Anil Ravipudi cast Varun Tej most often, in two films. Music on four of them is by Mickey J. Meyer, with Devi Sri Prasad (2) and S. Thaman (2) next. Sri Venkateswara Creations produced three of them, more than any other banner on file. Across these films the credits on file name 14 different directors, 10 music directors and 45 other credited actors.
Runtime is on file for 14 of them; they average 145 minutes, and the longest is Gaddalakonda Ganesh at 172 minutes. Nine of them have a streaming (OTT) release noted on the site. By decade the list splits into 2000s (1), 2010s (9) and 2020s (5).
Figures come from the films on file at Tollywood Desk and change as records are added.