‘Furious And Insulted’: Chiranjeevi Recalls How South Films Were Not Given The Same Stature As Bollywood

Chiranjeevi is a pioneering name in the South Indian film industry and has delivered some memorable films throughout his career so far. Recently, in an interview with Rajeev Masand for Aha’s special Fireside Chat at the South Indian Film Festival, the actor admitted that he was often agitated by the depiction of South cinema in the Indian film industry. Chiranjeevi described an incident that occurred when he was invited to a national film festival, which intensified this feeling.

Chiranjeevi recalled being invited to a film festival in Goa, where they had a high tea, and he saw posters of many Bollywood actors like Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, and others. However, from the South Indian film industry, he could only see pictures of Kannada star Rajkumar and Tamil actor MGR.

Chiranjeevi said, “I felt bad that photos of our very own NT Rama Rao garu and Akkineni Nageswara Rao garu, and even Sivaji Ganesan sir, weren’t there.” He added, “I was furious and insulted. In fact, I made films like Pratibha and Aaj ka Gundaraj to prove the potential of South cinema.”

Speaking about the rise of the Telugu film industry, Chiranjeevi praised SS Rajamouli and his efforts that have taken it to an international level. He said, “Telugu cinema has risen sky-high, and I will attribute it to SS Rajamouli. He has elevated Telugu cinema to the international level. He has brought all films under one roof of Indian cinema.”

On the professional front, Chiranjeevi is gearing up for the release of Vishwambhara on January 10, 2025. Trisha Krishnan, Meenakshi Chaudhary and other actors will play major roles in the film. Oscar-winning composer MM Keeravani has joined the Vishwambhara team as the music composer.

Recently, Guinness World Records recognised Chiranjeevi as the Most Prolific Film Star in Indian Cinema in the actor/dancer category. Over the course of 45 years, the legendary star has performed nearly 24,000 dance steps in 547 songs across 156 films. The Godfather actor received the award from Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan and a representative from the Guinness Records team during a special ceremony in Hyderabad on September 22, a date that marks the anniversary of his big screen debut in 1978.