Having a godfather or a steady mentor in the Telugu film industry is one surefire way to become a star who delivers hits in box office. There is even an opinion that without such support, it is impossible to rule the roost. Even the black and white heroes like Sr.NTR and ANR had dedicated mentors and proved time and again that they had ample support system to transform into big stars. But when it comes to Shiva Shankara Vara Prasad (later became Chiranjeevi), the journey is quite inspiring and amazing. On the eve of his completing 41 glorious years in stardom, Telugu360 digs into the life of a common middle class youngster to undisputed Megastar of Tollywood.
Chiranjeevi was somebody who didn’t have any background of film in family. The only passion he had was for dance by imitating the steps of heroes like ANR those days. His aim in life was to become a policeman and he tried hard to beat the odds. But the fate had some other plans for him. Even after joining Madras Acting Institute, the path was quite challenging. While his batch mates like veteran comedian Sudhakar got instant chances in Tamil films by director Bharatiraja, Chiranjeevi had to wait for the golden moment.
Usually, every hero dreams of becoming an optimistic character oriented star instead of a negative influence. But Chiranjeevi was someone who was passionate to show himself on screen, and his abilities. That is why perhaps he accepted even negative shade roles like Punnami Nagu, 47 Rojulu, Idi Kadha Kaadhu in the early days of his career. The intensity of his eyes was instantly noticed by every movie goer- and the passion towards screen presence was commendable. It was the era of 1980s when many young heroes were making a mark in the film industry by portraying roles which were close to reality. Issues like unemployment, middle class struggles, and questioning the authority became the theme of many films. Chiranjeevi was the first hand choice for such films and when young filmmaker Vamsi wanted to debut into films, he chose Chiru to act in Manchu Pallaki-a film with almost all newcomers in lead roles.
However, it was Khaidi which brought biggest breakthrough to Chiranjeevi as the introverted convict who escapes from the prison. His trademark black dress with a headband almost became like a Rambo trend in Tollywood then. Tollywood’s angry young man on parallel to Amitabh Bachchan in Bollywood was born. Another phenomenal luck was choosing Chiranjeevi for all Yandamoori Veerendranath novel based films directed by Kodandarami Reddy those days. Let it be Abhilasha, Challenge or Marana Mrudangam, this trend continued till Stuart Puram Police Station.
Dancing King
Though Chiru began his career as a negative shaded and angry young man, he slowly started experimenting in his strengths with growing opportunities. It was an era where there are no young hero who could dance as brilliantly as Chiru. Our hero captured this majestic market and enthralled the youth with his dance moves. He could do Indian Classical Dance along with International genres like Rock and Roll, Break, Disco and Techno- which were greatest rage those days.
Care for Costumes
As he grew by, Chiranjeevi took extreme care in costumes and his look. Right from shoes till the fit of his jeans, Chiranjeevi was mesmerizing throughout. Every salon in Telugu states had Chiranjeevi’s poster as an example- which itself says the trend he created. Isn’t it amazing that Chiranjeevi even recreated the trademark Michael Jackson’s Thriler look for his film Donga ?
Ruling Comedy Timing
It was almost impossible to imagine Chiranjeevi in a comical role especially after doing a string of angry young man roles till mid 80s.But when Jandhyala decided to feature Chiru in a Pink Panther meets James Bond kind of role in Chantabbai, many eyebrows were raised. But the way in which Chiru embraced the role of James Pond is fantastic. Right from his mannerisms to comedy timing, Chiru became undisputed king of comedy in every film right from then.
Mass or Class?
Chiranjeevi was one hero who balanced mass image along with his classy image with great ease. While he did pure mass flicks like State Rowdy which had every commercial aspect present, he also did classy flicks like Rudraveena, Swayam Krushi and Apathbandhavudu which featured him in low profile and de-glamorized roles. Which hero apart from Chiru could dare do a waiter’s role (Subhalekha) during the flourishing times of his career?
In this sense, Chiranjeevi is the only hero who could get close to both class and mass audience with his abilities.
Good Samaritan
Off the screen, Chiranjeevi is quite a friendly and peace loving person. He doesn’t get into fights with his co-stars and maintains healthy bonding with all actors alike. His speeches are filled with praises and admiration for older actors and younger generation alike.The service he did via his blood bank and eye donation is still exemplary and explains why he is Megastar always!
Telugu360 congratulates Chiranjeevi for his unique milestone and eagerly awaits the release his next project Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy!