Tallest in Tollywood

Before Bollywood industry had grown in size, especially during the last one decade, Tollywood, as Telugu film industry is known, used to produce the biggest blockbusters in the country. In early 90s, The Week magazine carried a cover story on Chiranjeevi titled "Bigger than Bachchan", indicating the financial muscle of his films. One of his recent films "Indra" is said to have grossed Rs 30 crore, not a small figure even by Hindi film standards. The star, who currently acts only in one film a year, is known to claim the Nizam area (Telangana region) rights as his remuneration.

This roughly translates into Rs 8 crore, according to trade pundits. With 5,000 fan clubs and scores of die-hard fans who will do anything for him, Chiru, as he is fondly called by fans, is more than a film star in Andhra. He is the third most important person for any public occasion after the Chief Minister of the state and the Opposition leader. No wonder, his clout extends beyond the confines of tinsel town to pop culture and, of course, to politics.

What makes Chiranjeevi, who acted in 148 movies till date, a formidable force in the industry is the fact that his family is now slowly emerging as the first family of Tollywood.

Chiranjeevi’s brother Pawan Kalyan, called ‘power star’, has a strong fan following and is considered one of the top heroes of Tollywood. Another brother Naga Babu is a character actor and producer. Aravind’s son Arjun has already carved a niche for himself as a young hero and Chiranjeevi’s son Raj Chran Teja made his debut recently with ‘Chiruta’ amid unprecedented hype. "Chiranjeevi Blood Bank" is probably the biggest blood bank in the state, and receives blood donations regularly from the actor’s fans. The state government provided one acre of prime land in the posh Jubilee Hills area of Hyderabad to locate the blood bank. The uncrowned king of Tollywood has also invested in an entertainment channel "Maa TV", and is said to be planning new channels, including a news channel. Despite all the aura around him, Chiranjeevi continues to be a shy and modest person, which is why he could not make up his mind on entering the political arena till date. The latest episode, which brought unsavoury publicity to the entire family, seems to have further dashed the hopes of his followers and admirers about his imminent political plans. — R.K.

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