Chiranjeevi Political Travel Start

Ready for a more challenging role?
The Badshah of Tollywood has resolved to take a break from films to don the role of a politician.
It is learnt that Chiranjeevi will be hosting a get together for the bigwigs in Tollywood to inform them about his plan to take a break from films besides seeking their support for his political party.

Undoubtedly, it would have been a tough call for the star and invariably his mind would have wavered a lot before taking the decision to cut short his second innings. He recently appeared in a song with his actor-son Ram Charan, so technically it could be his last appearance on screen until he makes a comeback for another stint. But A B Reddy, assistant manager of a media house says ,"Chiranjeevi can happily continue acting since politics may not be his cup of tea. It seems that there is lot of confusion in his camp over agenda and on few other issues as well. Uncertainty about launch dates compounds it. He wants to root out corruption and bring in social justice but both are uphill tasks".

An analysis of his three decadeold-career which began with Pranam Kareedhu in 1978, gives us an insight into the phenomenal transformation of a small-time actor into a star. After doing varied roles, he became a bankable star with Kaidi. A slew of blockbusters like Adavi Donga, Kondaveeti Raja, Pasivadi Pranam, and Kaidi No.786 to mention a few, ensured him the numero uno slot.

After a brief lull, he began his second innings with the smashing hit Hitler and sustained his enviable position with roaring hits like Indra, Tagore and Shankar Dada MBBS. Despite delivering duds like Anji, Andharivadu, Jai Chiranjeeva and Sankardada Zindabad in 2007, Chiranjeevi still managed to be the darling of the masses. Even after the advent of new age stars like Mahesh and NTR Jr, he remained the uncrowned king of Telugu cinema. He also received a good number of state and Filmfare awards but Padma Bushan was undoubtedly a jewel in his crown.
"His political entry seems to be a right move as he is ageing. But his larger-than-life image in films is bound to influence voters of all ages. His Mr Clean image will also attract voters from other parties but he needs to have a unique agenda to stay ahead of his rivals," says Kranti, a bank official.

Recently when director Rajamouli finished canning the song, a remix of Bangaru Kodi Petta.., the leading star would have walked out of the sets with mixed feelings – on one hand he would have been satisfied with his son turning out to be a star material, on the other hand that it might be his last filmi appearance, provided he returns for another stint since actors have no retirement per se.

All said and done, his new avatar is equally challenging since it could alter the fate of crores of people in the state. However, Sripada Sham of an advertising agency feels that the star has unnecessarily kept aloof in the recent past, "As an actor he looked like a people's man but for the last one year he has consciously distanced himself from the people. He tested the patience of people immensely by dragging the decision of his entry far too long. His political inexperience forced him to move behind the scene and allowed others to do the talking. Unfortunately he hasn't retorted to allegations against his blood and eye banks but if we can surpass the deeds of NTR we will be happy."