Upasana Konidela: heir to a Tk 77,000 crore empire who built an identity beyond a star family

Her husband is the popular Indian actor Ram Charan and her father-in-law is megastar Chiranjeevi. Yet Upasana Konidela's identity is not confined to being a daughter-in-law of a star family. She is an heir of the founding family of Apollo Hospitals, one of India's largest healthcare institutions, and through her work in business, healthcare and social welfare she has built a distinct position of her own alongside the business empire valued at around Tk 77,000 crore.

At a recent event in Andhra Pradesh, in conversation with the state's Human Resources Development Minister Nara Lokesh, Upasana said the biggest inspiration behind joining the family business was her grandfather, Apollo Hospitals founder-chairman Pratap C Reddy. One remark of her grandfather's changed the way she thought about life.

In Upasana's words: 'You were born into this family, you married into this family. So what is the point if you do not use this opportunity? You cannot just sit at home and relax. You have to do something that brings a positive change in people's lives.' That advice left a deep mark on her, and she decided to move forward by taking her work seriously every day.

Upasana was born on 20 July 1986. Her mother Shobhana Kamineni holds an important position at Apollo Hospitals. Her grandfather Pratap C Reddy founded Apollo Hospitals in 1983, and it was under the physician Pratap Reddy that private hospital-based healthcare expanded on a large scale in India. The institution now has an extensive network of hospitals, pharmacies and digital healthcare services. According to Forbes, all four of Pratap Reddy's daughters are involved in running the institution.

Upasana studied international business, marketing and management at Regent's University in London, and later took part in an executive education programme at Harvard Business School. Much of her career has centred on healthcare, healthy living and social development.

She has not remained confined to the family institution's identity. Upasana is the managing director of Lifetime Wellness RX International, to which her health and lifestyle initiative URLife is linked. She has also served as an independent director of Zydus Lifesciences and on the boards of several Apollo Group companies.

Recently, Upasana has also taken on a new responsibility as director of Apollo Hospitals' projects division. She will work on plans for building new hospitals in various Indian cities and on the expansion and modernisation of older ones; making the hospital environment easier, more comfortable and more effective for patients is also part of her remit. She received the role at a time when Apollo has an expansion plan of around Rs 8,600 crore under way.

Another much-discussed aspect of Upasana's family is their family constitution. Her grandfather created this written code so that no dispute arises among family members in the future over property and business ownership. In an earlier interview, Upasana said everyone in their family follows this constitution to avoid disputes over wealth; in her view, money should never become a cause of conflict within a family.

She has also spoken about equal rights for men and women in the family. According to Upasana, the women of the family demanded their rightful share, and it was because of their firm stance that equal rights for men and women were established in the family.

Upasana's personal life also draws attention. She met South Indian film star Ram Charan during their college days; friendship turned into love, and they married in 2012. Ram Charan is one of the most popular actors in Telugu cinema and gained international recognition through the film 'RRR'.

After marriage, the couple postponed the decision to have children for a long time and faced many questions and criticism over it. But Upasana has always given importance to her own timing and decisions. Their first child, Klin Kara, was born in 2023. After twins Shivram and Anveera Devi were born in January 2026, Ram Charan and Upasana became parents of three children.

At the recent Andhra Pradesh event, Upasana also spoke about women's reproductive health. Her advice is that after finishing college, women should consult a doctor about their fertility, which she believes can help them make decisions later about careers, marriage and motherhood.

Earlier, in 2025, she faced controversy after advising women about egg freezing at an event at IIT Hyderabad. Responding to the criticism, Upasana shared her own experience: she married at 27, decided to freeze her eggs at 29, and became a mother for the first time at 36.

Another major area of Upasana's work is social welfare. Through the Apollo Foundation she has worked on healthcare, nutrition, sanitation and women's employment for rural and tribal communities. Her organisations are also involved in running free health check-ups, treatment and awareness programmes in remote parts of India. In particular, through the 'Total Health' project, she has taken initiatives to bring healthcare to people in remote villages.