Happy Birthday Gopichand: 6 powerful performances by the Macho Star

One of the most handsome and talented actors in Tollywood, Gopichand is a name that reminds us of the entire iconic villain in Jayam who ruthlessly treats everyone, including the female lead. The dapper actor also reminds of us a number of commercial action entertainers he has been a part of in recent years. From being the anti-hero to evoking the favourite protagonist as his career progressed, Gopichand has managed to carve a niche for himself. As the talented actor turns 41 today, we decided to put together a list of his top 5 films that have impressed fans with his breakthrough performances.

Gopichand played a loyal servant Srinu who works for the local faction leader Reddeppa. Reddeppa's daughter Sailaja falls in love with Gopichand first; eventually, Srinu falls for her. Obviously, her father tries to kill him. Then, Srinu decides to teach him a lesson and also end his enmity with a rival factionist. Gopichand surely gave one of the best performances of his career in the film. Yagnam was directed by AS Ravi Kumar Reddy and produced by Pokuri Babu Rao under the banner Eetharam Films.

Directed by Amma Rajasekhar, Rama tells the story of a rural youth Chinna who moves to the city to pursue his higher studies falls in love with a local don Bhagavati's sister Maheswari. Chinna lands in weird situations as Bhagavati is malicious by nature. The film managed to break the box office, and Gopichand's performance as the mischievous youth was loved. The film has also been praised for its smart direction and racy screenplay.

Helmed by Srivass, Lakshyam established John as a bankable star, and he managed to leave an impression in the minds of the audience with his acting as a collegegoer Chandu. The film also features Jagapati Babu, Anushka Shetty and Yashpal Sharma. Several scenes of Gopichand from the movie are iconic, and it was later remade in Tamil as Maanja Velu, in Bengali as Fighter, and in Kannada as Varadhanayaka.

Helmed by famous filmmaker Puri Jagannadh, the action film was one of the biggest blockbusters of 2010 where Gopichand played the role of Gangaram, an encounter specialist cop. In the movie, Gopichand was highly applauded for his breakthrough performance in the movie, which also featured Priyamani, Roja Selvamani, Nassar, MS Narayana and Jeeva. While Gopichand's character lands in troubles, his performance showed more crispness which is remembered by fans till date.

Gopichand's performance in the film managed to impress the audience as he essayed the security guard, Gautham, who comes across his grandfather's diary that takes him on a treasure hunt. Directed by Chandra Sekhar Yeleti, the film which also starred Taapsee Pannu, Shakti Kapoor, Paru Gambhir and Ali is considered one of the best action-adventures of all times.

One of John's recent films Loukyam directed by Srivass with whom he marks his second-time collaboration after Lakshyam. His performance as a man who values his friends left everyone in awe of his acting ability. The film also starred Rakul Preet Singh, Brahmanandam, Chandra Mohan, Sampath Raj, Hamsa Nandini and Pragathi. The film was later remade in in Bengali as Besh Korechi Prem Korechi, Kannada as Ram-Leela and Tamil as Sakka Podu Podu Raja.