Then he essayed meatier supporting roles in Sindhooram (1997), Manasichi Choodu (1998), Premaku Velayara (1999), Samudram (1999), Annayya (2000) among others and also worked as an assistant director for several films.
Teja's first lead role came with Nee Kosam (1999), which was an average grosser at the box office but won him the Nandi Special Jury Award.
Teja then went on to star in notable films like Khadgam (2002), Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi (2003), Venky (2004), Naa Autograph (2004), Bhadra (2005), Vikramarkudu (2006), Dubai Seenu (2007), Krishna (2008), Neninthe (2008), Kick (2009), Sambho Siva Sambho (2010), Don Seenu (2010), Mirapakay (2011), Balupu (2013), Power (2014), Bengal Tiger (2015), Raja the Great (2017), Krack (2021), Dhamaka (2022) and Waltair Veerayya (2023).
Ravi Teja was born in Jaggampeta in the erstwhile East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh.
[11] He played small roles in the films Karthavyam (1990), Abhimanyu (1990), Chaitanya (1991), Collector Gaari Alludu (1992), and Aaj Ka Goonda Raj (1992).
Ravi Teja became an assistant director, working in several Bollywood as well as Telugu projects including Pratibandh, Aaj Ka Goonda Raj, and Criminal.
[13] In 1997, while still working as an assistant director, Ravi Teja got an opportunity to act in the film Sindhooram directed by Krishna Vamsi in a supporting role.
[15] Ravi Teja followed up with roles in the films Seetharama Raju, Padutha Teeyaga, Manasichi Choodu and S. V. Krishna Reddy's Premaku Velayara.
[16] Following this, he started appearing in more significant roles such as Krishna Vamsi's Samudram, Chiranjeevi's Annayya and Budget Padmanabham.
He also appeared in lead roles in multi-starrer films such as Kshemamga Velli Labhamga Randi, Tirumala Tirupati Venkatesa, Sakutumba Saparivaara Sametam and Ammayi Kosam.
In 2002, his next film Avunu Valliddaru Ista Paddaru!, directed by Vamsy and co-starring Kalyani was released.
Ravi Teja's portrayal of a young wannabe actor won him the Nandi Special Jury Award for the second time.
[21] In 2003, Ravi Teja worked again with director Puri Jagannadh for Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi.
The film co-starring Asin became a blockbuster hit and Jeevi of Idlebrain praised him: "Ravi Teja did well.
He also worked in the crime film Shock, directed by Harish Shankar and produced by Ram Gopal Varma.
He did both characters of Athali Sathi Babu and Vikram Rathod equally well, His mannerism of "jintata" is simply superb".
[29] Consequently, Ravi Teja went on to play the lead in Khatarnak (2006) and Dubai Seenu (2007), his third collaboration with director Vaitla.
[39][40] In 2014, he starred in Power with debutant director K. S. Ravindra along with a cameo appearance in Sairam Shankar's Romeo.
[45] In 2018, Ravi Teja starred in three films, Touch Chesi Chudu, Nela Ticket, and Amar Akbar Anthony, which were all huge critical and commercial failures.
However, his third release in the year, Dhamaka, was highly successful at the box office, eventually becoming the highest-grossing film of his career.