There’ a saying in showbiz on how one release can change everything. An out of form actor can make a smashing comeback; similarly an in form artiste can struggle to deliver if the content doesn’t appeal. There are numerous examples justifying this adage. 2026 has seen some strong comebacks for the likes of Samantha, Akhil, Ravi Teja, Chiranjeevi, etc. They have found scripts resurrecting their careers after being written off.
First up in this list is Samantha Ruth Prabhu. Irrespective of her box office outcomes Samantha has always enjoyed a strong fan following, but a strong commercial success was eluding the actress for some time. Nandini B Reddy’s Maa Inti Bangaram gave Sam a much-needed hit. However, Maa Inti Bangram’s triumph isn’t confined to just Sam scoring a hit, it also about the film being the biggest women centric grosser in Telugu. Yes, the film isn’t flawless by any means, but Samantha’s all-around act coupled with the novelty of a saree clad action heroine drew the audiences in a big way.
Akhil’s career journey before Lenin is a good example of how being a star kid doesn’t guarantee instant success. The journey started on a disastrous note and till Lenin Akhil went through a very uneven patch. Most Eligible Bachelor was a mild relief in between but the devastating results of Agent pushed back Akhil’s career significantly. Lenin scoring at the box was very important for Akhil, thankfully the young actor more than rose to the occasion with a solid act. The movie proved to be a good platform for Akhil to establish himself as a potential star and a much improved actor, on both counts the film was a success.
Ravi Teja has had a long career starting off with supporting roles and grey shaded characters. As a leading man Ravi Teja’s career took off much later, director Puri Jagnath has played a key role in building the current mass Maharaja image of Ravi Teja. Vikramarkudu directed by SS Rajamouli is another substantial movie in Ravi Teja’s career. The dual shades endeared the actor to masses and classes equally. But the last few years has seen an extreme mixed bag, whether its debutant/upcoming directors or even established ones like Harish Shankar. Irumudi came at a crucial time with reinvention being of utmost importance. After a long time, Ravi Teja played a layered role with vulnerabilities, the film has been smashing box office numbers and deservedly so.
Anil Ravipudi’s Mana Shankara Vara Prasad presented megastar Chiranjeevi in his vintage commercial avatar, something which the fans have been waiting for a long time. In Anil Ravipudi’s typical style the story was wafer thin, its an amalgamation of Chiranjeevi’s Daddy as well Nayanathara’s Viswasam. But what worked for the film was Chiranjeevi’s all round act.
The usual self depreciation associated with Anil Ravipudi’s heroes was on full display here too, the best part of MSVP was Chiranjeevi’s act of self depreciation with his signature comic timing. A special mention must be made of his scenes with Harshvardan, Abhinav Gomatam and Catherine Teresa as Vara Prasad’s teammates.
RRR star Ramcharan also made a mini comeback this year with Peddi. Yes the box office numbers aren’t on the level off RRR and the film had its share of criticism over Janhvi Kapoor’s character. Having said Peddi was still a substantial comeback in terms of fair box office numbers. On the performance front Ramcharan delivered easily one of the best performances in 2026 along with Satyadev.
Tamil actor Suriya has immense fan following in Telugu too. In Radhika Sarathkumar’s words he is Telugu cinema’s adopted son. There was a period when Suriya struck a perfect balance between mass and class; this however took a nose dive with the Singham sequels and Kanguva. Yes Jai Bhim and Soorai Potru were acclaimed hits (both OTT releases) but the big screen comeback was missing for the Ghajini star. But with Karuppu and Vishwanth &Sons the actor has made a grand return.
Karuppu on one hand is an unabashed massy entertainer in a courtroom set up. The actor was seen in the role of Karuppu Swamy, god coming in human form as lawyer Sarvanan. Suriya brought in his trademark intensity to the fiery episodes, at the same time there a few vulnerable bits too with Sarvanan struggling to deliver justice. Here too Suriya aced it. Vishwanath &Sons was 360 degrees turn from Karuppu. The character of Vishwanath is more internalized, and the actor did a fantastic job here as well. He particularly shined in the portion of Vishwanath revealing his feelings about Mamitha Baiju’s Maddy.
Final word: From the above overview a strong conclusion can be made on how one film can change an actor’s trajectory. A common thread binding the success of Samantha, Suriya, Ravi Teja etc is a solid script and role. The beauty of an actor’s career lies in how careers are rarely linear and sometimes all it takes is just one release to turn things around.