Early career (1996–1997)
Pawan Kalyan entered the Telugu movie industry with the 1996 film Akkada Ammayi Ikkada Abbayi as Kalyan Babu. This movie ran for 100days in 4 centres and managed to become a hit. His second movie was Gokulamlo Seetha in 1997, which was a remake of the 1996 Tamil film Gokulathil Seethai. Raasi was the heroine in the movie. This movie was directed by Muthyala Subbaiah and produced by G.V.G. Raju. This film completed its 100 day run in 11 theatres. In 1997, he was also seen inSuswagatham, a remake of 1997 Tamil film Love Today starring Joseph Vijay, Suvalakshmi and Raghuvaran. This film was the first blockbuster for Pawan Kalyan and ran for 100 Days in 16 centres.
1998–2001
In 1998, Tholi Prema was released and won a National Award and six Nandi Awards. The film was later remade in Hindi and Tamil. After Tholi Prema, Pawan acted in Thammudu, playing the role of a kick boxer. Thammudu was released on 15 July 1999 and was written and directed by P. A. Arun Prasad. The film had Preeti Jhangiani, Aditi Govitrikar acting opposite Pawan Kalyan. This was one of the biggest hits in the year 1999 which helped build a loyal fan base to Pawan Kalyan. This movie was later remade in Tamil and Kannada languages. It successfully ran for 100 days in 23 centres.. In 2000, he acted in Puri Jagannadh's first directorial venture Badri. Badri completed its 100-day run in 42 centres..
In 2001, Pawan Kalyan was seen in the film Kushi. The film was released on 27 April 2001 and was directed by S.J. Suryah. It completed 100 days in 79 centres is one of the most successful films in Pawan Kalyan's career.
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2002–2007
After the release of Kushi, Pawan Kalyan took a gap of two years in his career. He went to Japan to learn Aikido. He learned Aikido to use in his first directorial venture Johnny. Johnny, written and directed by Pawan Kalyan, released on 26 April 2003. Kalyan also starred in the film, along with Renu Desai. Amidst huge expectations it bombed at box office. In 2004, his filmGudumba Shankar was released. The film was directed by Veera Shankar (directional debut) and produced by Pawan's brotherNagendra Babu on Anjana Productions banner with Meera Jasmine as the female lead. The film's script and screenplay were written by Pawan Kalyan and he also choreographed three songs in this film and actions scenes were conceived and choreographed by him and critics appreciated Pawan for his skills.
In 2005, the film Balu ABCDEFG, directed by A. Karunakaran was released. This was A. Karunakaran's second film with Pawan Kalyan after Tholi Prema. This film had Shriya Saran and Neha Oberoi opposite Pawan and was produced by C. Ashwini Dutt under Vyjayanthi Movies banner. The film was a good grosser at the box office; it ran for 100 days successfully in 8 theatres in Andhra Pradesh.This was the first Telugu film to be released in Africa after 60 years. In 2006, Bangaram directed by Tamil director Dharani was released. The film was an average grosser at box office and completed 100 days in 5 centres. Later that year, he was also seen in Annavaram directed by Bhimaneni Srinivasa Rao. Asin, and Sandhya were cast alongside Pawan in the film and the film was produced by Mega Supergood Films. The film was released on 29 December 2006 and received positive reviews and proved to be a Super hit at the box office by collecting a record of 23 crores in 3 weeks. The film was a remake of the Tamil filmThirupaachi, which starred Joseph Vijay and Trisha Krishnan. Pawan Kalyan also choreographed a song "Neevalle Neevalle" in this film.
2008 – present
In 2008, Jalsa directed by Trivikram Srinivas and produced by Allu Aravind was released. The film starred Ileana D'Cruz and Parvati Melton in pivotal roles opposite Pawan. The film was released on 2 April 2008 with 320 prints in over 1000 theatres and successfully completed 100 days in 25 centres.
After 2 years, Pawan was seen in 2010 film Puli, written and directed by S. J. Suryaah and starring Nikeesha Patel opposite Pawan Kalyan. The film featured a soundtrack by A. R. Rahman and cinematography by Binod Pradhan. It was produced by Navodaya Appachan and Singanamala Ramesh on a 35 crore budget and was distributed by Geetha Arts. The film was released on 10 September 2010 worldwide with 600 prints in 1000 theatres. The makers of the film re-edited it due to very poor reviews and re-released the shortened version on 15 September 2010.The final outcome however was disappointing. The film was declared a flop at the box office. An official announcement was made in the same year that Pawan Kalyan was going to play a small role in a movie about Jesus Christ directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao and produced by Konda Krishnam Raju. Makers of the film also registered a title calledPrince of Peace at film chamber, but the film was shelved due to undisclosed reasons.
In 2011, he was seen in Theenmaar directed by Jayanth C. Paranjee. The film was a remake of the successful Hindi film Love Aaj Kal. The film was released on 14 April 2011. In 2011, Pawan Kalyan also appeared in Vishnuvardhan's gangster film Panjaa. The film, jointly produced by Arka Mediaworks and Sanghamitra Art Productions, also stars Sarah-Jane Dias and Anjali Lavania opposite Pawan. Panjaa was released on 9 December 2011. It received mixed reviews from critics and was criticised for lack of story and a strong screenplay.
In 2012, Pawan was seen in Gabbar Singh directed by Harish Shankar and produced by Bandla Ganesh. The film is a remake of the 2010 Hindi film Dabangg. The film successfully completed 100 days and stood as the highest grossing film of all time inTollywood. After this film Pawan worked in Puri Jagannadh's Cameraman Ganga Tho Rambabu. The film was produced by D. V. V. Danayya and was released on 18 October 2012. His latest release is Trivikram's next Attharintiki Daaredhi. The film, released on 27 September, 2013, is a complete family entertainer with Samantha & Pranitha as female leads. The film's audio and teasers have already come out and are reportedly on popular demand. The music for this film was scored by Devi Sri Prasad.
5 crores as a one time settlement to Nandini. Soon after the divorce, on 28 January 2009, he married Renu Desai. Renu Desai worked as a costume designer for most of his films. The couple has two children, a son named Akira Nandan born in 2004 and a girl named Aadhya born in 2010.