Chiranjeevi's Southern Comfort at 59
Telugu superstar turned politician Chiranjeevi turns 59 today.
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Telugu actor-politician Chiranjeevi turns 59 today. ‘Chiru', as he is affectionately called by his fans, is currently a member of the Rajya Sabha and is keeping his distance from the light but his fans are ever anxious and awaiting his next move, whether on screen or off it. On his birthday, here is a look at his cinematic journey.
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Chiranjeevi's first big hit as a hero was Intlo Ramayya Veedhilo Krishnayya (1982), opposite Madhavi and directed by Kodi Ramakrishna. The film ran for a record number of days at the time.
Chiranjeevi was lauded for playing the role of a teasing husband and a caring friend with ease.
In the same year, Chiranjeevi won his first Telugu Filmfare Award for his role in Subhalekha directed by K Viswanath. -
In 1985,he acted in in Donga opposite Radha. Though the film was not a blockbuster it gave Chiranjeevi his key to international fame with the song Golimaar . The song's video is ‘inspired' heavily from Michael Jackson's Thriller even features similar costumes, sets and dance steps. After the advent of video sharing websites, the song's video became a viral hit and is known famously as the ‘Indian Thriller'.
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1990 was a terrific year for Chiranjeevi, as two of his films hit bullseye at the box office. Kondaveeti Donga, directed by A Kondandarami Reddy, was a massive hit. It was an engaging film which presented a niche topic in a commercial way.
Raja Vikramarka, which co-starred Raadhika, was also a huge box-office success. -
Critics stopped writing him off in 1997 when he set the box office on fire with Hitler, which was a smash hit.
Hitler was a remake of the Malayalam film of the same name. The film was directed by Siddique, who went on to direct the smash hit Bodyguard starring Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor. -
His last full fledged lead role was in Shankar Dada Zindabad (2007), directed by Prabhu Deva. It received lukewarm reviews and was only a moderate success at the box office. The film was a remake of the Bollywood super hit Lage Raho Munnabhai which had featured Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi.
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Chiranjeevi made his political debut by forming a regional party called Praja Rajyam Party in Andhra Pradesh in 2008. He contested elections in 2009 from his hometowns Palakollu and Tirupati.
In February 2011, Chiranjeevi announced that his political party would merge with the Congress.
In August 2011, Chiranjeevi joined the Indian National Congress in the presence of AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi. -
Chiranjeevi is married to Surekha, who is the daughter of celebrated comedian Allu Rama Langaiah. The couple have two daughters, Sushmita and Sreeja, and a son, Ram Charan Teja, who is also a successful Telugu actor and made his Bollywood debut in 2013 with Zanjeer.Surekha's brother Allu Aravind is a celebrated Telugu film producer and his sons Allu Arjun and Allu Sirish are also actors.