Meet Chiranjeevi, the Celluloid God of the 80s

From misogynist flicks typical of the 90s, to award-winning performances, Chiranjeevi has done it all.

Chiranjeevi as Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy in Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy.

(Photo Courtesy: YouTube screengrab)

G. A. N. G

GANG GANG! BAJAO BANG BANG!

GANG LEADER!!!

K Balachander was one of Tamil cinema’s most influential directors. He was definitely the most successful talent scout (Rajinikanth and Kamal Hassan were his finds, among others). He said, of Birthday Boy, Mega Star Chiranjeevi:

“Chiranjeevi has both Kamal Hassan and Rajinikanth in him. He can not only do action, he can also act.”

The mega star turns 64 today. With the ‘mega’ budget biopic Sye Ra Narasimha Reddy set to release this year, the actor is eyeing a second innings in cinema that he kicked off with Khaidi No 150 (2017), which crossed the Rs 100 crore mark in five days.

Star, Super Star, Mega Star. Get It?

From the late 80s to the dawn of the new millennium, Chiranjeevi was the undisputed boss of Telugu cinema. Rajini maybe a Super Star. But Chiru was our Mega Star. You think that’s a tad overboard? Consider this:

Chiranjeevi was the first non-Bollywood actor to charge Rs 1 crore for a movie.

His movie Kodama Simham was the first to be dubbed into English. It was a logic-less cowboy-with-heart-of-gold movie featuring Pran (oh yeah!) as the villain with stolen treasure and an imprisoned mother as part of the ‘plot’. Typical Chiranjeevi fare.

Guess who was guest of honour at the 59th Academy Awards (yes, THE Academy Awards)? MEGA STAR.

I could go on and on, but let’s move forward.

TINGLISH Is Born

Telugu, I believe, among all of the Indian languages, lends itself most beautifully to including English words as part of its spoken version and in movie lyrics. And this fact was milked till the buffaloes moo’ed in protest, during Chiranjeevi’s reign.

Here’s a sample. How many English words can you make out from this song? I got around 30.

Raunchy, Sexist, 90s

Telugu cinema is steeped in misogyny and even debutantes are measured by their ability to rough-handle a heroine in style. There are some exceptionally beautiful and technically brilliant films, but they are few and far in between. This about sums up Chiranjeevi’s filmography as well.

From cult classics like Gang Leader, to occult/fantasy mega hits like Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari, Chiranjeevi has delivered full on entertainers, but with sketchy female characters and raunchy numbers. However, there are movies like Swyamkrushi and Stuart Puram Police Station and Aapadbandhavudu, to which Chiranjeevi brings his humility and honesty as an actor, leaving behind his megastardom.

My celluloid God of the 80s has resurrected himself. And now his myth is set to grow larger. Nevertheless, here’s another nostalgic item number.

Boss Is Back, Again: Check out Chiranjeevi’s Sye Raa Narasimhareddy

Produced by Ram Charan (Chiru’s son), the movie releases in five languages worldwide, and is supposedly made at a cost of Rs 300 crores.

(This article is being republished from The Quint’s archives on the occasion of Chiranjeevi’s birthday. It was first published on 22 August 2016.)