Chiranjeevi, the Megastar of Tollywood today, was born on 22 Aug 1955 in "Mogaltur", a small village in 'West Godavari' District in Andhra Pradesh to sri Venkat Rao and Anjana Devi. He grew up in his native village with his grand parents, while his family was else where because of his father's occupation. The sense of descipline and hard work which he still embraces were introduced at a very young age in his life and the tough childhood he had being the eldest in his family have helped him to handle many such events of higher proportion with great expertise in the later stages of his life.
Little did he imagine, even in the wildest of his dreams, that he would, one day, be a Megastar and rule the Telugu Film Industry. Years later, this youngster called "Chiru" in the Film Industry , with his hard work and dedication to his proffession, could make it really big in the field hitting the limelight, with an unparallel fan following emulating his every act, word, dress and dance. What makes this ordinary human being such an extraordinary one - god knows!
After graduation, Chiranjeevi moved to Madras to seek a career in his chosen field of acting in the Film Industry. To get himself ready for the stage, he joined in an acting school in Madras. After struggling for some time, he took to acting by appearing in small roles in films like "Pranam Kareedu" and "Punadhi Rallu". He, from that modest beginning to this date, has acted in 132 films. Throughout his career he has been through a lot of ups and downs but every time he came back with extra persevrance and won his way through people's hearts with wonderful performances in his films. Chiranjeevi got married to Surekha, the daughter of veteran actor sri "Allu Ramalingaiah". Chiru has always been a family man - being blessed with two daughters Sushmita & Srija and a son Ramcharan Tej.
And as Chiru becomes the most popular hero, he has lived a royal life, travelled widely from one country to another around the world almost every time in the delightful company of filmi celebreties who act, sing and dance with him. He acted in a lot of best movies to date and had been able to deliver splendid action-packed movies. With all these talents in him, it isn't a big surprise to know that he has been one of the highest paid movie actors in the Indian Film Industry. Be it actor, star or megastar - Chiranjeevi has been acknowledged as being one of the most successful actors in the history of the Telugu Motion Picture Industry. We, in our site, would like to highlight the remarkable work Chiranjeevi has shared with the movie-going-public for the last 20 years. ENJOY!
As Chiranjeevi completes 20 years of his entry into the films and in all the achievements and honors, there's no sign of pride but he's still going successfully with a string of hit films. Chiru tells his fan association: " Among the many skilled performers who toil in front of the camera, only a few are excellent actors. A fewer still are those with the vague and elusive traits we call star quality. At the intersection of these groups is the most selected group of all, a tiny number among whom Chiranjeevi stands out. The reality is - i am an actor. My fans perceive me as a Megastar".
Above all, on Oct 02 1998 he started Chiranjeevi Eye & Blood Bank and Charitable Trust to give back to the people whatever he could on the humanitarian ground thus demonstrating a new dimension in his personality.
His first film - "Pranam Khareedu" - Was Released On 22 Sep 1978 and after 10 years of his first film, his 100 th film - "Trinetrudu" - was released on 22 Sep 1988.The first film that ran for 100 days is - "Manavuri Pandavulu" - in which the Oriya actress - "Reshma Roy" - was cast opposite Chiranjeevi. In Nakilee Manishi", Chiranjeevi performs dual roles for the first time in his acting career and he played three roles in "Donga Mogudu" and "Mugguru Monagallu" as well.The remuneration Chiranjeevi got for his first film was thought to be Rs 1000/- where as his remuneration as of now almost equals the one that a Hollywood actor demands.Chiranjeevi acted with about 50 actresses out of which - "Vijay Shanthi" - was cast opposite him in 19 films and the only other actress to be cast against him in highest number of films was - "Radhika" - in 18 films.Among all the directors who workedfor Chiranjeevi, "A.Kodanda Rami Reddy" tops directing 24 films for him.
The first film Chiranjeevi acted was when he was in the Film Institute itself. The role was supposed to have been done by a friend of him, "Sudhakar". But as he was under a contract with "Bharathi Raja" then, he could not act in that film. It was recommended by him to act in that film. He got the permission from principal, "Y.G. Partha Sarathi" and then acted in that film. One of the producers sri "Kranthi Kumar" saw the film and booked him for another black and white art film. It was released on 22nd Sep 1988. Sri "K. Bala Chander " and "K. Bapu" were also there to watch the preview of the movie. Afterwards, they signed him for their next films.He acted in so many films but never thought of the sizes of roles that he was offered that he had taken all the roles as a challenge and given his best including the guest roles and villainy roles in his starring career. In 1983, Khaidi was released. It was a history in the Tollywood and on that day onwards, there was no looking back for Chiranjeevi, the "Megastar", that he was, all of a sudden, transformed into a "Supreme Hero". So long a way from "Supreme Hero" to "Mega Star" today.
Excellent article. Good work.
Goog