“Failures don’t affect me anymore,” says Chiranjeevi

When NT Rama Rao left Telugu cinema to join politics in the early Eighties, producers were in a fix: No hero could command the numbers he did. Their answer came in the form of a young Chiranjeevi, who took the industry by storm. His stardom reached an important milestone when Gharana Mogudu (1992) became the first South Indian film to make Rs 10 crores. Today, he credits his turn as a megastar to multiple aspects. “Previously when songs came on, they were like small intervals. The audience would go out and smoke,” said the actor, in conversation with Film Companion. All that changed with the ascent of Chiranjeevi. The action sequences, though a highlight, were never credible enough because the viewers knew they were being performed by stunt doubles. But with megastar Chiranjeevi channelling the swag of a masala hero and performing most of his own stunts, viewers were glued to their seats. This credibility is what made even women watch his fight sequences, said the actor.

Godfather’s release will see Chiranjeevi complete a whopping 44 years in the industry. The decades have taught the megastar to deal with failures gracefully. “In those days, if I have a hit, I would enjoy it to the core. If I had a flop, I would go into my shell,” he said. This continued for 15 years, but he’s a changed man. “Now, I never let the hits get to my head or the failures get to my heart,” he said. This mentality helped him get through the collapse of an important film this year – Acharya, which marked the first time Chiranjeevi shared substantial screen space with his son, Ram Charan. The actor said the film’s reception will be a difficult reminder for the next time the father-son duo decide to team up.

Speaking of his son, who starred in S.S. Rajamouli’s blockbuster RRR (2022), Chiranjeevi said he is a “director’s hero”. “He goes to the set as a white paper. Whatever the director says, he absorbs it and delivers it,” said Chiranjeevi. When asked if his son is a better actor than him, the megastar laughed and said, “If I would have gotten the opportunities he does, I would have been better than him also. He’s an extension of my talent.”

The actor does not plan on quitting the films soon and fans may see him adopting a new role soon — that of a director. Clearly, Chiranjeevi’s fans have much to look forward to.