Happy Birthday Gopichand: 5 performances that helped him find firm footing in the industry

It was in 2001 that Tottempudi Gopichand—the son of legendary producer T Krisha—entered the Telugu film industry, playing the lead role 'Thodi Valapu'. Unfortunately, the film bombed at the box office, derailing his career at an early stage. This, however, did not shatter him. On the contrary, it motivated the actor work harder and make a name for himself.

Luckily these efforts paid off as Gopichand soon made quite a name for himself, thanks to his ability to strike up a crackling rapport with his co-stars. Today, on the occasion of his birthday, let us revisit some of his best performances.

Ranam: Directed by Amma Rajashekar, this romantic-drama revolved around a simpleton who falls in love with the sister of a dreaded Hyderabad-based don. Boasting of some lifting tunes from Mani Sharma, the film fared reasonably well at the ticket window, enjoying a 100 day run at quite a few centres. It was later on remade in Kannada and Oriya as 'Bhadra' and 'Mahanayak' respectively.

Golimaar: Touted as an action-thriller, 'Golimaar' is perhaps best remembered for its simple yet engaging storyline. Essaying the role of an aspiring police officer, Gopichand delivered a sincere performance which helped this Puri Jagannadh-directed venture find tremendous critical and commercial success. Interestingly, it was dubbed into Hindi under the same title while the Tamil version was titled 'Vettai Nayagan'.

Lakshyam: Highlighting the intense rivalry between a young man and a corrupt land dealer, the film created quite a stir amongst movie buffs, thanks to Gopichand’s gripping performance and its fluid screenplay. Directed by Srinivas, 'Lakshyam' opened to an overwhelming response at the box office. Subsequently, It was remade in Kannada('Varadhanayaka'), Bengali('Fighter') and Tamil('Maanja Velu').

Sahasam: Regarding as one of the most daring releases of recent times, 'Sahasam' re-introduced lovers of Telugu cinema to the adventure genre. Bringing together the much loved duo of Tapsee Pannu and Gopichand, the film received rave reviews, being labeled as a 'must watch'. Interestingly, it was shot in Ladakh and Hyderabad.

Jil: Released earlier this year, 'Jil' dealt with how a simple firefighter ends up becoming the target of a dreaded criminal. Also featuring Rashi Khanna and Urvashi in important roles, this Radha Krishna-directed project received encouraging reviews and found moderate success on the commercial front.