Varun Tej responds to criticism for always bringing up Chiranjeevi, Pawan Kalyan, Ram Charan: ‘It's my wish’

Actor Varun Tej spoke about his family at the pre-release event of his upcoming film Matka and addressed some recent criticism.

Varun Tej recently addressed criticism for constantly bringing up his uncles Chiranjeevi and Pawan Kalyan and cousin Ram Charan everywhere he goes. At the pre-release event for Matka, the actor said their love and support for him is equivalent to earning ₹100 crore. (Also Read: Varun Tej says Chiranjeevi never let him or cousins turn into spoiled brats: He used to cane Allu Arjun, Ram Charan)

Varun Tej is Chiranjeevi, Pawan Kalyan's nephew and Ram Charan's cousin.

‘It’s my wish’

Varun acknowledged at the event that his last few films have failed, but says that Ram has always lent him support when he’s down. He said, “When my films don’t work, of course, it hurts me. You get hurt when you fall down. Just a few days ago, I was worried whether this film (Matka) would work or not. My brother Ram Charan called me at around six in the morning (when he learnt of it). He doesn’t need to say anything; he just needs to be by my side, and I’ve earned ₹100 crore.”

He also addressed criticism for talking about his family, stating that success means nothing if one has forgotten their roots. “People always criticise me for talking about my uncles and my brother. It’s my wish, though. You might achieve success or not, but you always need to remember why you set out on this journey, where you’ve come from, and who supported you in getting there. Your success is worth nothing when you forget that,” he said.

Even when he went on an episode of Bigg Boss Telugu hosted by Nagarjuna recently, Varun called Ram his ‘go-to brother’, Chiranjeevi his ‘inspiration’, Allu Arjun ‘the most hardworking’ and Pawan ‘honest and resilient’. He also called his wife Lavanya Tripathi his ‘love’ and his sister Niharika Konidela his ‘best friend’.

Upcoming work

Varun will soon star in Karuna Kumar’s Matka with Meenakshi Chaudhary and Nora Fatehi as his co-stars. The film will be released in theatres on November 14.

Chiranjeevi will soon star in Vishwambhara with Trisha Krishnan as his co-star. Pawan is juggling duties between being the Deputy CM of Andhra Pradesh and shooting for Hari Hara Veera Mallu.

Ram will star in Shankar’s Game Changer, which will be released in theatres on January 10, 2025. Arjun will reprise his role as Pushpa Raj in Sukumar’s Pushpa 2: The Rule. It will be released in theatres on December 5.